SAN FRANCISCO -- Even with a depleted lineup and San Francisco southpaw Madison Bumgarner on the hill, the Padres were able to hang tough in a 6-4 victory Monday night at AT&T Park.The Padres' power came from an unlikely source: veteran backup catcher Rene Rivera, who belted his first three-run homer since 2005 as part of his five-RBI night. Rivera's big blast came in the fifth inning and it barely cleared the center-field fence, while he also ripped a two-run double down the left-field line in the fourth to open the game's scoring. 
San Diego -- currently dealing with injuries to key hitters like Chase Headley, Seth Smith and Carlos Quentin -- was also without starting second baseman Jedd Gyorko (paternity leave) on Monday. Tommy Medica (1-for-3, walk) was called up in Gyorko's place while Alexi Amarista (1-for-4, double, walk, RBI) started at second, and both players scored two runs on the evening.Ten days after shutting out the Giants across eight innings in San Diego, Padres righty Tyson Ross faced the minimum through three innings. He was also bailed out by a couple of early double plays, but the Giants eventually got on the board in the fourth.Hunter Pence drilled an RBI triple to right-center field to score San Francisco's initial run. Three batters later, Ross uncorked a wild pitch and allowed Brandon Belt to go to second base, setting up Michael Morse's two-run single that put the Giants ahead, 3-2.After Rivera hit his long ball to put the Padres back ahead in the top of the fifth, Giants second baseman Brandon Hicks hit his second homer in as many days, a solo shot to left that made the score 5-4. Ross was eventually pulled after throwing 5 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four.But Ross handed the ball off to San Diego's stellar bullpen, which turned in 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to lower its MLB-best era to 1.94. Huston Street closed out the ninth to earn his 10th save in 10 tries, second only to Milwaukee's Francisco Rodriguez (12).Alex Espinoza / Special to MLB.com
San Diego -- currently dealing with injuries to key hitters like Chase Headley, Seth Smith and Carlos Quentin -- was also without starting second baseman Jedd Gyorko (paternity leave) on Monday. Tommy Medica (1-for-3, walk) was called up in Gyorko's place while Alexi Amarista (1-for-4, double, walk, RBI) started at second, and both players scored two runs on the evening.Ten days after shutting out the Giants across eight innings in San Diego, Padres righty Tyson Ross faced the minimum through three innings. He was also bailed out by a couple of early double plays, but the Giants eventually got on the board in the fourth.Hunter Pence drilled an RBI triple to right-center field to score San Francisco's initial run. Three batters later, Ross uncorked a wild pitch and allowed Brandon Belt to go to second base, setting up Michael Morse's two-run single that put the Giants ahead, 3-2.After Rivera hit his long ball to put the Padres back ahead in the top of the fifth, Giants second baseman Brandon Hicks hit his second homer in as many days, a solo shot to left that made the score 5-4. Ross was eventually pulled after throwing 5 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four.But Ross handed the ball off to San Diego's stellar bullpen, which turned in 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to lower its MLB-best era to 1.94. Huston Street closed out the ninth to earn his 10th save in 10 tries, second only to Milwaukee's Francisco Rodriguez (12).Alex Espinoza / Special to MLB.com
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