For the San Francisco Giants, six pitchers and two hits equaled one satisfying win Thursday afternoon
The Giants will look to extend their lead atop the National League wild-card standings Saturday night when they visit the Oakland Athletics in the opener of a two-game "Bay Bridge" series
Giants right-hander Ross Stripling (0-4, 5.52 ERA) and Athletics right-hander Paul Blackburn (2-2, 4.83) are expected to start Friday's game
Both teams had an unusual off-day Friday after completing a series against NL West opposition on Thursday
LaMonte Wade Jr. homered in the fourth inning to lift the host Giants to their third straight win, a 1-0 blanking of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the finale of a four-game set. The visiting Athletics fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who finished off a sweep with an 8-2 victory
The win was the seventh in the last nine games for the Giants -- a stretch that began with a two-game sweep of the Athletics in San Francisco on July 25-26
The victory over the Diamondbacks was accompanied by an October-like energy for the Giants, who entered Friday 2 1/2 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the race for the top wild card in the NL
Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt retired the first nine batters before Wade homered to right field on a 2-2 pitch. The Giants had just two more baserunners -- Isan Diaz walked in the sixth and Michael Conforto singled in the seventh -- but six pitchers combined to limit Arizona to six hits
Tristan Beck earned the win with four innings of bulk relief work
"I have fun in those games," Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. "The close games are the ones that give you the best adrenaline rush and that make you feel most alive.
The Athletics, who have the worst record in baseball at 30-80, are mired in another difficult stretch. Oakland has lost four straight and is 5-13 since the All-Star break
The Dodgers outscored the Athletics 25-6 this week and never trailed
Oakland took solace Thursday night in rookies Tyler Soderstrom and Zack Gelof accounting for its runs with a pair of solo homers. It was the first homer for Soderstrom and the fifth for Gelof
"I'm excited to watch both of them," said Athletics starting pitcher J.P. Sears, who took the loss after giving up two runs in five innings. "They're very competitive guys and great teammates. I'm excited to play with them a lot in the future.
Stripling allowed one run over 4 1/3 innings last Sunday, when he didn't factor into the decision in San Francisco's 4-3, 11-inning win over the Boston Red Sox. He is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two career games (one start) against the Athletics
Blackburn won his last outing, allowing two runs and nine hits in six innings of an 11-3 win at Colorado on July 29. He is 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA in 11 1/3 innings over two appearances against the Giants in his career
--Field Level Medi