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SAN FRANCISCO -- Madison Bumgarner pitched himself into the San Francisco record book, took a share of the major league lead for wins and, most important to the soft-spoken southpaw, moved his team one step closer in an NL West race that could go down to the wire. Bumgarner struck out eight on the way to his 18th victory, and the Giants moved within one game of NL West-leading Los Angeles by beating the Dodgers 9-0 on Friday night. "Its not hard to get up for the Dodgers series, especially the circumstances were in," Bumgarner said. "The offence did an unbelievable job and kept scoring runs." Pinch-hitter Travis Ishikawa splashed a three-run homer into McCovey Cove, and Brandon Crawford hit a two-run drive in the fifth to help Bumgarner win his fifth straight start. Buster Posey and Crawford hit RBI doubles in the first as the Giants jumped on Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-7). The Dodgers left-hander exited after only one inning because of irritation in his pitching shoulder. He said its similar to the problem he dealt with in May that landed him on the disabled list, raising doubt whether he will pitch again this season. Ryu will be re-examined Saturday in the Bay Area. "Im staying positive. I felt this before in the past, so hopefully it will be the same time that it took to recover from that," Ryu said through a translator. "I think it was a week or two." San Francisco, which leads the NL wild-card race, is one game back of Los Angeles for the first time since Aug. 4. The Giants have won a season-best 10 straight home games after handing the Dodgers their fifth shutout loss. This group has its swagger back at home. "Its as good as it can be. Its been that way for a while now," Bumgarner said. "Weve got a lot of guys who have been here and done this before." Bumgarner (18-9) reached 200 strikeouts for the first time in his career when he fanned Scott Van Slyke in the second. The lefty is tied with Dodgers Sunday starter Clayton Kershaw, Cincinnatis Johnny Cueto and the Cardinals Adam Wainwright for most wins in the majors. Los Angeles lined up its top starters for this series, while Giants manager Bruce Bochy opted to keep his pitchers on their regular schedule because things have been working well so far in September. "Its for first place. Were a game behind them," Crawford said. "We know the stakes." The Dodgers had the best road record in baseball and swept the Giants in three games at AT&T Park from July 25-27 -- outscoring San Francisco 17-4. "Its live theatre every night, we just dont know the ending here," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said before the game. Posey hit an RBI double in the first that sent the orange towel-twirling fans into a frenzy. Hunter Pence followed with a run-scoring single, then Joaquin Arias added an RBI single. San Franciscos home winning streak is its longest since an 11-game run from July 7-25, 2003, which is the best in the 15-year history of AT&T Park. The shutout matched the Giants largest at home against the Dodgers since moving to San Francisco in 1958. The Giants also beat Los Angeles 9-0 on June 25, 1968. Bumgarner needs two wins over his final three starts to become the Giants first 20-game winner since John Burkett (22) and Bill Swift (21) in 1993. Bumgarner has 207 strikeouts, most in a season by a San Francisco left-hander. Ishikawas second career pinch-hit homer was the 102nd into the water and 67th by a San Francisco hitter. "Its a big series," Bochy said. "Any time you can jump ahead, its huge for the club." TRAINERS ROOM Dodgers: LHP Paco Rodriguez, on the disabled list since Aug. 4 with strained muscle below his pitching shoulder, threw a simulated game that went well. If he bounces back fine, Mattingly said a decision could be made as soon as Saturday about activating Rodriguez. Giants: 1B Brandon Belt took batting practice a day after being medically cleared from a concussion. ... OF-1B Michael Morse missed his 10th straight game with a strained left oblique. He took some pregame swings but still needs at least a couple of days. UP NEXT Dodgers: RHP Zack Greinke (14-8, 2.73 ERA) puts his unbeaten mark against NL West opponents this season on the line in the middle game of the series. He is 9-0 in 12 starts vs. the division. Giants: RHP Tim Hudson (9-10, 3.12) makes his 16th career start against the Dodgers and second this season, trying to end a two-start skid. . -- Wes Welker is unlikely to suit up for Denvers game Thursday against San Diego after leaving Sundays win over Tennessee with his second concussion in four games. . Appearing on TSN 1050 on Tuesday, Sean McAdam of Comcast SportsNet New England reported that the Blue Jays, along with a number of other playoff contenders were in the mix for the Boston ace. http://www.baseballnationalsauthority.c ... er-Jersey/. Campbell, playing on loan with Greek club Olympiacos, found the net with a left-footed shot in the 44th minute off a pass from second-half substitute Jorge Rojas to open the scoring at Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica. . The Detroit Tigers closer blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning Wednesday night against the Dodgers. . Every once in awhile, it seems like life lets dreams become real - and that is a gift.The World Cup can be glorious for many reasons. On Sunday it stepped up to educate viewers. Arjen Robben was fouled in the box deep into added time in the match against Mexico. The key word in that sentence is fouled. Defender Rafa Marquez stepped in and stood on the foot of Robben in the penalty area. At no level of this sport, from youth football to the World Cup, is a defender allowed to step on an opponents foot. None. It was a clear penalty. 100 times out of 100 a referee should give it. However, there was a huge outrage on social media once the decision was made. Just after contact, Robben kicked his left foot into the air and threw his arms back, flopping to the floor. Robben cheat then was trending. But is he a cheat? Let us look at the facts from Sunday, ignoring what some people think he is like as a professional. Robben, who earlier in the game was fouled and didnt get a penalty for staying on his feet, falls to the ground theatrically. However, as he is falling to the ground the real incident has already happened. The defender, Marquez, has misjudged his duties; he is too late and has dived in late and connected with the foot of Robben. It is the referees duty at this time to decide if this is a foul. His decision should not be clouded by Robbens reaction. This, of course, is easier said than done. A football referees job is one of the hardest in professional sports yet, for some, there is an expectation for him to be judge and jury in cases such as this. Was it a foul? Did the player dive? Here is what you need to know about these questions. Referees are VERY good at deciding what is and what is not a foul. They are not, and should not be, VERY good at deciding if a player is diving. To come up with this verdict you have to measure intent. This is VERY dangerous territory. For some, Robben was cheating in this scenario. For some, his actions are worse than Marquez, even though the skipper of the Mexican national team rashly DIVED in and committed a foul in the final minutes of a monumental football match. The verdict is in on Marquez. It was a foul. So, what of Robben? Those throwing around the word cheat must be sure the player had intent and desire to cheat the referee or opponent. Whenever someone is guilty of something those accusing must always be clear of the rule itself and it is worth quoting the rules on simulation which comes under FIFAs Law 12 on fouls and misconduct. Unsporting Behaviour (Simulation) Directive: If blatant simulatiion, caution.dddddddddddd. If minimal contact, consider cautioning player. For the worst part of the crime - something they call blatant simulation - the guardians of the game instructs referees to give a yellow card; exactly the same card that players receive for a poor challenge or time wasting, for example. When such a moment happens, that directly impacts a match it is worth noting UEFAs stance explained in article 10 under 1C on suspensions applied to misconduct: Suspension for two competition matches or for a specified period for acting with the obvious intent to cause any match official to make an incorrect decision or supporting his error of judgement and thereby causing him to make an incorrect decision. That rule was applied in 2009 when UEFA banned Arsenals Eduardo for simulation against Celtic in the Champions League. However, as this case proved, it is very difficult to judge whether a player has obvious intent to dive. Arsenal rightly challenged the two game ban applied to their striker and it was overturned. We are now at a stage in 2014 where we are evaluating how every footballer goes down to the ground under a challenge with many rushing to the assumption that they are diving cheats. This is not helping anyone. As Arsenal proved when they overturned the Eduardo ban, accusing someone of intentionally trying to simulate is very dangerous. Asking a referee to do the same is even more moronic and the game is already at a crossroads with this as fouls are now being missed based on what happens directly afterwards. And this is the biggest concern. Fouls, seen by referees, are being missed because of the outrage over simulation. Fouls are already being missed as it is. Not through incompetence but because the game is so difficult to officiate. Referees rely on players to help them with this and if a player falls down theatrically under a legitimate foul, no ones attention should be turned to the latter. This, of course, is as likely as officials missing clear penalties and players simulating. The clear obsession with this area of the sport is growing and growing, particularly from a crowd who dont watch the game as often. Despite the obsession, the crime remains a difficult one to judge. Perhaps, then, energy is better used elsewhere? Dont count on it. For example, if Robben had been booked for diving, would there have been such an outrage when Netherlands would have been denied a clear penalty in the dying minutes? Not even close. ' ' '