which began buzzing in anticipation before he even rele

SAN FRANCISCO -- Yusmeiro Petit had all of an hour to prepare for his spot start, and he hadnt thrown off a mound for seven days while only playing catch. There was no time to study San Diegos hitters, either. Petit dazzled in place of injured ace Matt Cain, pitching six innings to lead the San Francisco Giants past the Padres 6-0 Tuesday night. "Thats my job," said Petit, who was one out from a perfect game last September against Arizona shortly after joining the rotation. "Im prepared for it any time for that, one moment before the game telling me youre going to start the game. Ive done it before. Its normal for me." Angel Pagan led off the first inning with a homer and Buster Posey connected two batters later to give Petit an early boost. Cain was scratched after cutting the tip of his right index finger. Cain was in the clubhouse kitchen making a sandwich and had a knife in his hand when the utensil dropped. Cain tried to catch it and cut his finger about a half-inch at the tip. He took batting practice, but then tried to throw and kept opening the cut. He expects to make his next start, Monday at Pittsburgh. "Its obviously really, really bad timing," Cain said. "Petit did an unbelievable job today. He picked it up and the guys scored a bunch of runs. Hopefully this isnt a big deal ... and it should be fine in a couple days." Petit (2-1) didnt allow a hit until Everth Cabreras leadoff single in the fourth. Hector Sanchez, starting at catcher with Posey at first base, hit a two-run single and a sacrifice fly. Petit allowed three hits with four strikeouts and no walks. It was his first start not allowing a run since he tossed a one-hitter last Sept. 6 at home against Arizona. He lowered his ERA from 3.68 to 2.61. Jean Machi pitched two innings and Santiago Casilla finished the 2-hour, 28-minute, three-hitter, San Franciscos second shutout this season. The Padres were blanked for the fourth time. The Giants said Cain wouldnt require stitches. "What a great effort," manager Bruce Bochy said of Petit. "Any time you lose your starter and the swing guy goes in there and gives you six innings like that, thats such a big lift for the club." Cain, who pitched a perfect game two years ago at AT&T Park, will finish winless in April. He is 0-3 with a 4.35 ERA in five starts. Pagan sent a 1-1 pitch from Eric Stults (1-3) just inside the left-field foul pole for his second homer, then Posey hit his sixth one out later. It was Pagans seventh career leadoff homer and first since May 1, 2013, at Arizona. The Giants hit two homers in the first inning at AT&T Park for the first time since Fred Lewis and Bengie Molina did so on July 22, 2008, against Washington. "Tonight I didnt execute many pitches. I was down in the zone the first time I played them," Stults said. "I knew they were probably going to be aggressive. They usually come out swinging early." Stults was done after 2 2-3 innings, allowing five runs and seven hits. San Diegos Yasmani Grandal made his first career start at first base as manager Bud Black gave struggling Yonder Alonso a break. San Diego will try to win Wednesdays rubber game for their first road series victory this year and snap a nine-series winless streak at AT&T Park dating to a three-game series here from Oct. 1-3, 2010, one that sealed the Giants division title on the way to the citys first World Series championship. NOTES: Padres reliever Donn Roach doubled in the sixth for his first major league hit. ... Home run king Barry Bonds made an appearance at the ballpark. ... Padres OF Seth Smith was available off the bench but missed his fourth straight start as he nurses a strained groin sustained Thursday night against the Nationals. Black said it was "a very good chance" he could start Wednesday. ... Giants RHP Tim Hudson tries for his fourth victory, facing LHP Robbie Erlin (1-3). ... The Giants improved to 11-1 when scoring first. ... It was an usually warm 76 degrees at first pitch. Adidas Nmd r1 Damske Levne . As a follow-up, TSN.ca offers you the opportunity to chime in on all the big issues with our insiders. Read up on all the questions and answers, and put in your own two cents on our popular Your Call feature. Adidas Nmd r2 Damske . While he was away, it was the division-rival Baltimore Orioles conducting a little business of their own, scooping up Ubaldo Jimenez on Monday evening to a reported four-year, $50-million contract. http://www.botynmdlevne.com/ . Johnny Manziel, college footballs most entertaining player with the reputation for pulling off magical plays, was selected with the No. Pánské Basketbalové Boty Adidas .C. -- Steve Spurrier was much happier about South Carolinas improved performance than about his lastest career milestone. Adidas Nmd Sleva . Poti played in 824 regular NHL games with four teams in his career; the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals.SAN ANTONIO -- The Spurs play a style thats been described as boring and ugly at times, so it only made sense that they felt comfortable down the stretch against Charlotte in a game their own coach said was "hard to watch." Tim Duncan had 17 points and 16 rebounds, and San Antonio overcame a sluggish start to beat the Bobcats 92-82 on Friday night. The Spurs clinched their 17th consecutive winning season, dating to Duncans first with the team. Manu Ginobili scored 15 points, Marco Belinelli and Patty Mills added 14 each and Kawhi Leonard had 12 for San Antonio (42-16). "Im really proud of how they hung in and realized it was a 48-minute game," coach Gregg Popovich said. "Manu didnt have a good game for a while, but down the stretch he came through. He and Timmy, they executed well; Patty really well (and), obviously, Marco was a big help. Overall it was a hell of a win against a very good basketball team." Al Jefferson scored 20 points and former Spurs guard Gary Neal added 15 for Charlotte (27-31), which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Gerald Henderson scored 12 and Kemba Walker 11. San Antonio had 19 turnovers, but only one in the final 6 minutes of the game. That helped the Spurs overcome a 14-point deficit in the first half. "Fourteen points in this league is nothing," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "Especially against a team like that, that shoots the ball like that. I think the way you look at it, to me, is you want to have a chance on the road at the end of the game to win, which we did." There were three ties and two lead changes in the final 7 minutes as the Spurs celebrated Military Appreciation Night with camouflage uniforms. Ginobili blocked Walkers layup attempt and drew a charge on Jefferson on consecutive possessions. Duncan followed with a 15-foot jumper that gave San Antonio an 82-80 lead with 1:43 remaining. Duncan then fired a pass to Belinelli in the right corner for a 3-pointer over Neal that gave the Spurs an 85-80 edge. "We know (Neals) a bad defender. All he wants to do is shoot," Duncan said, smiling afterward. "We took advantage of that. Gary was great tonight, actually. He played hard, played well." Neal said he knew that play was coming off an inbounds set, but Duncan simply executed it well. "Ive made a couple of 3s like that from Timmy over the 207 games I played here," Neal said. "Tim is a Hall of Famer. He made a great play. Thats what he does. Thats why the Spurs are so successful." Duncan had six assists and shot 6 for 12 from the field, including 4 of 4 in thee second half.dddddddddddd Ginobili later completed a three-point play after rolling in a left-handed layup from the right side of the rim just beyond the reach of Jefferson and Henderson to put San Antonio up 88-80. The rally helped the Spurs wipe away a second straight sluggish start at home. "Its frustrating at times that were not able to come out of the gates and play the way we want to play night in and night out," Duncan said. "To play through the ups and downs and find a way to win a game like that is good for us." Charlotte led throughout the first half, extending its cushion to 34-20 with 8:26 remaining on three free throws by Anthony Tolliver. Showing the type of ball movement the Spurs are normally known for, the Bobcats had 15 assists on 19 first-half baskets. San Antonio had only three assists early in the game, missing all but five of its first 17 shots while shooting 30 per cent. "Its hard to watch, isnt it?" Popovich said, laughing when a reporter responded that the game was ugly. "Appreciate your honesty. The turnovers are how we dug a hole for ourselves in the first half. The only thing that kept us in the first half is we hit five 3s." Charlotte built its advantage with little help from Walker, the teams second-leading scorer. He had only three points, going 1 for 8 from the field in the first half. Ginobilis 3-pointer gave the Spurs their first lead at 51-49 with 5:21 left in the third. His second 3 gave San Antonio a 64-57 advantage and brought a loud cheer from the sold-out crowd, which began buzzing in anticipation before he even released the ball. "We made too many mistakes and we got away from our defensive principles," Jefferson said. "The one thing we know about San Antonio is you have to play 48 minutes because they are not going to stop what theyre doing." NOTES: With his 12th rebound, Duncan passed Hakeem Olajuwon (13,748) for 12th on the NBAs career list. At 13,753 rebounds, Duncan is 16 shy of tying Wes Unseld for 11th. "Obviously, I watched (Olajuwon) growing up playing and played against him for a little while," Duncan said. "I respect what he did throughout his career. Its an honour." ... Neal and Duncan shook hands and hugged following a timeout with 4 minutes remaining after Duncan glared at his former teammate before giving a sly smile. ... Spurs point guard Tony Parker sat behind the teams bench as he continues to recover from a series of leg maladies that began before the All-Star break. ... Charlotte C Brenden Haywood (broken left foot) and F Jeff Taylor (ruptured right Achilles) sat out. ' ' '