Samardzija, Giants beat Padres 2-1 to keep pace with Mets

Fighting for a postseason berth, Jeff Samardzija and the San Francisco Giants finally figured out the pesky San Diego Padres. Angel Pagan's single broke a scoreless tie in the eighth and Samardzija struck out nine in seven innings for the Giants, who beat the Padres 2-1 on Thursday night to keep pace with the New York Mets for the NL wild card lead. The Mets and Giants took a half-game lead over the idle St. Louis Cardinals in the wild card race.