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SAN FRANCISCO - Pablo Sandoval singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 2-1 victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night and into first place in the NL West. The struggling Sandoval came through after reliever J.P. Howell (1-1) intentionally walked Hunter Pence with two outs. Sandoval, who entered the game batting just .164, grounded into centre field to score Joaquin Arias from second. Jean Machi (3-0) pitched out of a bases-loaded jam earlier in the seventh for the win. Buster Posey broke an 0-for-13 skid with an RBI single in the third to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Dee Gordons tying triple in the sixth accounted for the Dodgers lone run. Los Angeles at least dodged worse news. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez left in the seventh after getting hit by a pitch from Ryan Vogelsong on the top of his left hand. The team said X-rays on Ramirezs hand were negative. Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save, striking out Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp to end the game. Vogelsong allowed the one run and four hits in six-plus innings to help the Giants win their third straight game. He struck out two and walked two to match Paul Maholm most of the way. Maholm gave up one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked three to rebound from a loss in his only other start this season on April 5, when he allowed five runs in 4 1-3 innings to the Giants. San Francisco improved to 4-1 against the Dodgers this season in a race that could remain tight through the summer. Both teams began the day with a 9-5 record. The starting pitchers kept the game moving at a far brisker pace than the nearly 5-hour contest Tuesday night that ended when Hector Sanchez singled home the winning run with two outs in the 12th inning to give the Giants the win. The biggest blemish came when Vogelsong hit the top of Ramirezs left hand to open the seventh. Ramirez slammed his helmet to the ground and hopped around in pain before being replaced by Justin Turner. After the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out, Machi fielded a hard comebacker from Juan Uribe to start a home-to-first double play. The biggest hold up came from baseballs new replay system after Vogelsong pick of Kemp at first base in the second inning. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly challenge the play, which umpires upheld after a 4:25 video review that drew light boos from some fans during the wait. NOTES: Dodgers ace and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who is on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his back, threw breaking balls off flat ground. He is scheduled to throw off a mound Thursday. ... An MRI on Dodgers RHP Chad Billingsley showed no ligament damage in his elbow, Mattingly said. Billingsley has some tendinitis that will delay his recovery. ... Giants SS Brandon Crawford sat out with tightness in his right hamstring but said he expects to play Thursday. ... The Giants activated lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt (sprained right knee) from the 15-day disabled list and optioned OF Juan Perez to Triple-A Fresno. ... Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig entered in the seventh and grounded out in the eighth. ... Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner (2-0, 3.31 ERA) takes the mound opposite Dodgers LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-1, 2.57 ERA) in Thursdays series finale. Marshall Faulk Rams Jersey . The San Angelo, Texas product, who was a high school and college quarterback sensation in the Lone Star State, will start his first CFL game with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-4) on Friday at Mosaic Stadium against the leagues top team, the Calgary Stampeders (11-2). Kurt Warner Rams Jersey . You can watch all the action on TSN and TSN GO beginning at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. Minnesota dropped the first two tests of this best-of-seven set at Chicagos United Center and was outscored by a combined 9-3 margin in those setbacks. However, the Wild righted themselves at home by taking Game 3 by a 4-0 count before knotting the series at two games apiece with Fridays 4-2 triumph at Xcel Energy Center. http://www.laramsfootballshops.com/orlando-pace-jersey/. With a win tonight, Buehrle will match Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka for the most wins in the majors with 11. Buehrle is 10-4 with a 2.32 earned run average, but has lost his last three starts, including a 7-3 setback at Yankee Stadium last Wednesday. Jared Goff Youth Jersey . Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series. Jack Youngblood Rams Jersey . Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic said his team will include 9th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic and 27th-ranked Viktor Troicki as he decided to let the top-ranked Djokovic rest.Ottawa, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Casey Cizikas goal with 6:27 remaining spoiled an emotional night for the Ottawa Senators while lifting the New York Islanders to a 2-1 victory. The Senators honored franchise icon Daniel Alfredsson, who signed a one-day contract with the team on Thursday to officially announce his retirement, prior to the games start. However, Ottawa mustered just 21 shots and Mika Zibanejads power-play goal to extend their losing streak to four games. It was fun to be a part of and I think it was well done, Senators captain Erik Karlsson said of the ceremony. That was the positive of the day, obviously, we didnt win the game. Brock Nelson added a goal in the red-hot Islanders eighth win in their last nine outings, while Jaroslav Halak posted 20 saves to set a team record with his 11th consecutive win between the pipes. Craig Anderson stopped 23 shots for Ottawa, which was coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to New York in Long Island in Tuesdays opener of this home-and- home set. Despite its low offensive output, Ottawa played the Islanders even until Cizikas broke the 1-1 stalemate in the 54th minute. Thomas Hickey set up the game-winner with a centering pass that hit off a Senators defender and went straight to an uncovered Cizikas, who ripped a shot from the right circle past Anderson. It was huge, Cizikas said. (Hickey) found me backdoor with a nice pass and I was able to get it off quick enough. Might not havve been the hardest shot, but it went in.dddddddddddd Halak made the lead hold up by making four of his 12 third-period saves in the final six minutes. After neither team generated much offensively during an uneventful opening period, the Islanders struck on a power play with 8:15 left in the second to take a 1-0 lead. Frans Nielsens pass into the crease hit the skate of Ottawas Cody Ceci and was promptly jammed in by Nelson for his team-leading 12th goal of the season. Penalties by Nelson and Brian Strait 43 seconds apart allowed the Senators to pull even with about five minutes left in the second, however. Zibanejad converted the 5-on-3 chance with a well-placed one-timer from the left circle off an Erik Karlsson give. Game Notes Alfredsson spent his first 17 NHL seasons with Ottawa before a one-year stint with Detroit in 2013-14, and is the Senators all-time leader in goals (426), points (1,108) and games played (1,178) ... Halak had held the Islanders record for consecutive wins by a goalie with Billy Smith (1982) ... New Yorks Michael Grabner (hernia surgery) and Ottawa defenseman Marc Methot (back) both made their season debuts ... Senators forward Bobby Ryan returned from a two- game absence caused by a broken finger ... Defenseman Travis Hamonic (upper body) and forward Cal Clutterbuck (lower body) both sat out for the Islanders after sustaining injuries in Tuesdays matchup. ' ' '