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Durham's four RBI lift Schmidt, Giants to victory

PHOENIX -- By continuing to break out of his dreadful
slump, Ray Durham helped Jason Schmidt continue his impressive
winning streak.

Durham homered and drove in four runs and Schmidt picked up his
fifth straight victory as the San Francisco Giants recorded
their fifth win in six games, a 6-3 triumph over the Arizona
Diamondbacks.

Durham, a former leadoff hitter now batting in the fifth spot,
endured a 2-for-28 slump last week but has rebounded to go
6-for-12 with two homers and six RBIs in his last three games.

"I wish I could have started the season off like the way I am
swinging now," Durham said. "I now come up with guys on base
with a chance to drive them in and I have been doing that. I
didn't really consider myself as a true leadoff guy. I had some
power. I am an aggressive hitter and will continue to do so."

The veteran second baseman delivered a game-tying RBIs single in
the fourth, but his biggest blow came two innings later. J.T.
Snow singled with one out and Moises Alou followed with a base
hit to left field before Durham belted a three-run homer off
Diamondbacks starter Brandon Webb (11-11), giving the Giants a
4-1 edge.

Durham is 9-for-24 with three home runs in his career against
the sinkerballer.

"He was trouble for me last year, but I hadn't had that much
trouble from him this year," Webb said. "Tonight, he was on. He
was all over me and pretty much everything that I was
throwing."

Omar Vizquel added a two-run double in the seventh to give San
Francisco a 6-1 lead and chase Webb, who was reached for six
runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings en route to his third loss
in four starts.

Schmidt (12-6) was much more effective, allowing three runs and
four hits - all doubles - in 6 2/3 innings to improve to 5-0
with a 3.38 ERA in his last six starts.

"Other than this game, I have felt really sharp the past few
games," Schmidt said. "I am just going out there and doing what
I can do to salvage the rest of the year. I am not trying to
beat on guys or anything, I am just trying to get guys out and
do what I can do."

The righthander cruised through the first six frames, allowing
just one run and two hits before tiring in the seventh, when he
yielded a two-run double by Alex Cintron that sliced the Giants'
lead to 6-3.

Schmidt has won nine straight games against Arizona and is 9-4
lifetime at Bank One Ballpark.

"I have no idea how I beat them nine straight," Schmidt said.
"It is a big shock to me. They always give me a good battle,
but somehow I walk out of here with a win."

Scott Eyre followed Schmidt with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless
relief and Armando Benitez worked a perfect ninth to convert his
10th save in 12 chances.

Shawn Green doubled twice and scored a pair of runs for Arizona,
which dropped its third straight game and has lost nine of 12
overall.

With the win, the Giants (60-73) moved past the Diamondbacks for
sole possesion of third place in the weak National League West,
6 1/2 games behind first-place San Diego.

"It took us seven months to get there," Giants manager Felipe
Alou said. "This is a division where the wild card is not going
to come out of. Third place or second place in this division
doesn't mean anything."

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