MLB: San Francisco 4, LA Dodgers 0

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Barry Zito and five San Francisco relievers combined on a five-hit shutout Sunday for a 4-0 Giants whitewash of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Zito (11-8) silenced the Dodgers on four hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, walking three and striking out four.

Santiago Casilla, Jose Mijares, Guillermo Mota and Javier Lopez teamed up for two innings of hitless relief and Sergio Romo picked up his 11th save for National League West-leading San Francisco.

The Giants took two of three in the crucial series against the second-place Dodgers, increasing their lead over them to 5 1/2 games with 22 contests remaining in the season.

Hunter Pence provided a two-run double in the first inning and Buster Posey socked a solo homer for the Giants.

Joe Blanton (9-13) was hung with the loss for Los Angeles, yielding four runs on six hits in a 5 1/3-inning effort.

The Dodgers also fell 1 1/2 games behind St. Louis in the National League wild card race.