SAN DIEGO, July 29 (UPI) -- Oscar Salazar singled home Scott Hairston from second with one out in the ninth inning Thursday, giving San Diego a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Padres won two out of three in the series and increased their lead in the National League West to 3 1/2 games over idle San Francisco. Third-place Los Angeles fell seven games back.
The game had been deadlocked since the fifth when George Sherrill came on for the Dodgers in the ninth in hopes of sending the contest into extra innings. He was able to retire only one batter.
Hairston reached on a single to lead off the inning and was sacrificed to second by Tony Gwynn.
Salazar was called on to pinch-hit for Everth Cabrera and battled Sherrill (1-2) through an eight-pitch at bat before hitting a grounder up the middle that brought home Hairston.
That made a winner out of Heath Bell, who worked a perfect top of the ninth and improved his record to 5-0 to go with 29 saves.
