SAN FRANCISCO, July 10 (Reuters) - San Francisco’s bearded closer Brian Wilson survived a scare in the ninth inning before sealing a 4-2 victory for the Giants over the New York Mets on Sunday.
Known for his intimidating presence on the mound, the hirsute Wilson came on to defend a 4-1 lead but conceded a run before allowing a runner to reach second. He struck out Carlos Beltran, however, to earn his 26th save of the season.
Starter Matt Cain pitched six scoreless innings to improve to 8-5 on the year for the Giants (52-40), who took two wins in the three-game series with the Mets (46-45).
The defending World Series champions now head to the All-Star Break with a three-game lead in the National League West Division.
“We’re confident and happy the way we finished the first half (of the season),” San Francisco outfielder Nate Schierholtz told reporters after he went 4-for-4 and had an RBI single in the third inning to give the home side a 2-0 lead.
“The pitchers really saved us in a lot of games. They kept us in a lot of tight one-run games. All in all, we’re in pretty good shape.”
The Giants ended the opening half of their season on a positive note by jumping on the Mets early.
Pablo Sandoval hit an RBI double in the third for the game’s opening run, a blast that extended the third baseman’s hitting streak to 21 games as he celebrated his first-time call up to the NL All-Star Team as an injury replacement in style.
The Giants added two more runs in the seventh and handed New York starter Mike Pelfrey the loss after the right-hander surrendered two runs in six innings.
The Mets got on the board in the eighth when pinch-hitter Nick Evans hit a solo home run but without injured shortstop Jose Reyes, who is leading the National League in batting, the visitors lacked the firepower to overcome the Giants.
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