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SAN DIEGO -- Hunter Renfroe had a busy first big league start for the San Diego Padres.He got his first two hits. He learned that it is indeed a game of inches when he couldnt quite catch Joe Paniks fly ball that went for a double during a San Francisco rally in the eighth. He even got to show off his strong arm.The Padres lost 2-1 as Angel Pagans single broke a scoreless tie in the eighth and Jeff Samardzija struck out nine in seven innings for the Giants, who kept pace with the New York Mets for the NL wild-card lead.The Giants faced a Padres lineup that included five rookies, three making their first big league starts. The Giants snapped a six-game losing streak to the Padres, who have been their nemesis during their second-half skid. The Padres swept the Giants at San Francisco last week and in San Diego in the first series after the All-Star break. The Giants had swept the Padres three times in the first two months of the season.Panik, who had been in an 0-for-24 slump, doubled to right-center opening the eighth against Christian Friedrich (5-11). His fly ball ticked off the end of Renfroes glove, hit the ground and bounced over the fence. Kelby Tomlinson, pinch-hitting for Samardzija, singled to left to put runners on the corners and chase Friedrich. Brad Hand came on and induced Eduardo Nunez to hit into a force, with Panik holding at third. Pagan then hit a blooper that landed just fair and brought in Panik.Renfroe fielded Paniks hit and made a strong throw, but first baseman Wil Myers cut it off.Since there was no other play there, Wil probably wants to let that ball go, manager Andy Green said. I think hed say that right now. I dont think were accustomed to Hunter Renfroes arm yet. That is a very unique play to see a ball drop on the line like that and see a guy coming up firing like that. I dont know how far up the line it was going to be to Hedgy (catcher Austin Hedges), but I thought it was going to be close enough to be an interesting play at the plate. ... Theres some arm strength there.Hunter Pence doubled with two outs to bring in Nunez.I felt good. I felt like I did as well as I could have, honestly, said Renfroe, San Diegos first-round pick in the 2013 amateur draft. I could have done a little better defensively, touching the ball; just missed that reach there. Positioning could have been better, I think. I could have caught it. Other than that, Im happy with myself. `Hunter Pence doubled with two outs to bring in Nunez.The Mets and Giants took a half-game lead over the idle St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card race. New York beat Philadelphia 9-8 in 11 innings.San Francisco came in trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by six games in the NL West, with 10 to play.Padres pinch-hitter Alex Dickerson homered off Derek Law with one out in the eighth.Samardzija (12-10) allowed four hits in seven scoreless innings, and walked none.Sergio Romo pitched the ninth for his second save in as many chances. Ryan Schimpf doubled with one out before Renfroe popped up to first base and fellow rookie Carlos Asuaje grounded to short to end it.Padres outfielders Renfroe and Manuel Margot, and second baseman Asuaje were making their first big league starts.Renfroe, Margot, Asuaje and catcher Hedges were called up Wednesday from Triple-A El Paso, which won the Pacific Coast League title before losing to International League champion Scranton-Wilkes-Barre in the Triple-A showdown on Tuesday night in Memphis. Renfroe and Asuaje made their big league debuts as pinch-hitters on Wednesday night while Margot made his as a pinch-runner. Hedges made his big league debut last year.Padres reliever Jose Torres made his big league debut when he started the ninth.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: Manager Bruce Bochy said RHP Johnny Cueto, who was forced out of his start Tuesday night with a strained groin, is improving and will try to throw on Friday. ... Bochy said SS Brandon Crawfords dislocated pinky on his glove hand was doing a lot better. Yesterday he had a tough day. It was really sore. Hes throwing to keep in shape.Padres: Manager Andy Green said RHP Colin Rea has begun throwing. Hes been shut down with an elbow injury.UP NEXTGiants: Rookie RHP Albert Suarez (3-4, 4.16) is scheduled to start Friday night.Padres: RHP Edwin Jackson (4-6, 6.00) gets the start Friday night.Blake Wheeler Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Nikolaj Ehlers Jersey . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. http://www.jetsauthentic.com/authentic-patrik-laine-jets-jersey/ . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. Patrik Laine Jets Jersey . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. Teemu Selanne Jersey . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.DES MOINES, Iowa -- Drake coach Ray Giacoletti abruptly resigned Tuesday after three-plus seasons, saying it was time for a new voice to lead the Bulldogs out of a skid that has them just 1-7 so far this season.Giacoletti, a former coach at Utah, went 32-69 at Drake and will be replaced by assistant Jeff Rutter for the rest of the season. Athletic director Sandy Hatfield-Clubb wouldnt speculate on Rutters status following the season.Giacolletis stint with the Bulldogs got off to a promising start, as he finished 15-16 in 2013-14 at a program with just one NCAA Tournament appearance since 1971.But Drake finished 9-22 and 7-24 in the next two seasons. The Bulldogs only win so far in 2016-17 came against Division III Simpson College, and last week they went through a brutal stretch that included two-point losses at DePaul and Fresno State.It felt like this was the right move, Giacoletti said. Im a big boy. I understand how this thing works. Its year four, and where our team needs to be, in my opinion, not anybody elses opinion, where I believe our team should be, Im accountable for that. I didnt feel like we were there, and I didnt feel like there was a whole lot of how I could help it change.The promotion was bittersweet for Rutter, a close friend of Giacolettis who will be a Division I head coach for the first time.Rutter has spent 30 years in coaching, including a stint as the head coach at Division II Wisconsin-Parkside from 1996-2003. He left to join Greg McDermott at Northern Iowa and followed McDermott to Iowa State, where the pair worked togethher for seven seasons.ddddddddddddTheres no wholesale change, some magic formula. (Its about) guys believing in playing efficiently, playing hard, playing together, and just trying to get over the hump and hope getting over the hump snowballs in a positive way, Rutter said.Giacolettis resignation was just the latest in a long line of struggles for Iowas most downtrodden Division I program.After reaching the Final Four in 1969, the Bulldogs went through decades of lackluster play. Tom Davis, who had recently been let go at Iowa, took over in the early 2000s and made the program competitive before handing the program over to his son. Keno Davis led Drake on a remarkable run in 2007-08, winning the Missouri Valley Conference and earning a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He left for Providence after that season and was replaced by Mark Phelps, a strong recruiter who couldnt make the Bulldogs a winner in five seasons.Hatfield-Clubb thought she had found the right guy in Giacoletti, a former head coach at Utah and a Gonzaga assistant who hoped to follow the blueprint that Mark Few used to maintain sustained success with the Zags.Unless Rutter can show marked improvement with this years roster, shell likely have yet another coaching search on her hands this spring.Our team is not where we expected to be when we originally talked about that vision, Hatfield-Clubb said.---More college basketball at www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '