By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, September 10, 2016
AP photo: San Francisco Giants hitter Denard Span (2) waits for Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Arichie Bradley’s delivery in the second inning of Saturday night’s contest at Chase Field
PHOENIX, Ariz. – After weeks of struggling offensively, San Francisco’s bats came alive at Chase Field Saturday, as the Giants used a 19-hit attack to overwhelm Arizona 11-3 and stay in the hunt for either the National League West title or a wild-card berth.
The Giants stranded 24 baserunners, but with contributions coming from all nine spots in the batting order, that’s a number that can be dismissed in a game San Francisco needed to keep its playoff run alive.
Angel Pagan, Hunter Pence, Joe Panik and Eduardo Nuñez each had three hits for the Giants, while Johnny Cueto gave them a quality start on the mound.
“It was good to see,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “Heart of the order, back of the order, everybody swung the bats well. And look what Johnny did. He was terrific today.
“All throughout the lineup, everybody did something to help the cause.”
“I want to thank God, and my teammates for scoring all of those runs to support me,” Cueto said through team interpreter Erwin Higueros.
With the win, the Giants kept pace with first-place Los Angeles, trailing the Dodgers by 4 games in the NL West, and remain percentage points ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets for the first wild-card.
“We don’t worry about what the other teams are doing,” Bochy said. “We just go there and try to win every game. That’s the stage we’re at right now, and that’s how we’re playing.”
Cueto (15-5) is 6-1 in eight career games at Chase Field, 3-0 this year. In seven innings, he scattered three hits, struck out six, walked two while giving up two earned runs.
“I felt really good,” Cueto said. “I think I secured all of my pitches. I just want to give everything I have and not hold anything back.”
“Johnny had great stuff, great command of all of his pitches, and it’s good to give him a break after seven with that lead, too,” Bochy said. “That allows you to some things, get some guys off the bench and on the field. This was a great game for us.”
San Francisco scored first when Hunter Pence singled to open the second inning and came around on Joe Panik’s double to the left-center warning track.
Arizona starter Archie Bradley then, with runners at second and third following Cueto’s sacrifice bunt, worked out of a two-out jam. But Bradley would encounter more problems in the San Francisco third.
The Giants batted around in the third inning, scoring four runs to build a 5-0 lead. After Angel Pagan led off with a single, he scored on Buster Posey’s triple down the right field line. Brandon Crawford followed with an RBI double to the left-center field gap, scoring Posey.
Two batters later, Eduardo Nuñez was issued an intentional walk to load the bases and pitch to Cueto. The Giants’ starting pitcher responded by looping a base hit to shallow right, scoring Crawford. Pence, who advanced to third, scored on a wild pitch during Denard Span’s at-bat.
As he rounded first base, Cueto began the windmill waiving signal usually used by third base coaches, trying to get Pence to score on the hit as well.
“Of course I wanted that RBI! There were two outs!” Cueto said, laughing. “I really wanted (Pence) to score.”
“Hitters like that RBI. He’s just being like the rest of the hitters,” Bochy said. “But it was a nice piece of hitting on his part. That was a huge run at that point of the game.”
That inning spelled the end for Bradley (6-9). The Diamondbacks’ highly touted righthander surrendered five earned runs on eight hits, struck out three, walked two, and threw 68 pitches.
“My fastball was up, my curveball was sharper, and I even threw my changeup earlier,” Bradley said. “This (San Francisco) is a good team. You can they’ve been struggling, but they broke out of it tonight. They put together good at-bats, and when I missed my spots I paid for it.
“They’re learning what I’m trying to do. I made some good pitches, but they put better swings on them.”
San Francisco tacked on a run in the seventh when Pence, who scored four runs, hit a solo home run to right, his 11th of the season.
“Hunter is swinging the bat well right now,” Bochy said. “He missed a lot of time and it takes a while to get your timing back. He’s doing a nice job of two-strike hitting too.
In the Giants’ eighth, they scored four more runs. Pagan tripled and scored on a wild pitch, and after Crawford singled and Pence walked, a drive to deep center by Brandon Belt was originally ruled a home run, but was overturned after a 2:05 video review. Belt wound up with a two-RBI double instead, and eventually scored when Nuñez hit into a fielder’s choice.
Cueto, meanwhile, continued his mastery of the Diamondbacks’ lineup before Jake Peavy and Josh Osich each threw one inning to finish up.
Yasmany Tomas parked a Josh Osich fastball halfway up the left field pavilion for his 28th home run of the season. Brandon Drury grounded out to third to end the 3:09 game.
Since the All-Star break, the Giants have hit .221 (100 for 452) with runners in scoring position. If Saturday’s game is any indication, the Giants will be increasing that percentage in the stretch run.
The weekend series concludes Sunday with Giants lefthander Matt Moore (9-11, 4.40) facing D-Backs righthander Zach Greinke (12-4, 4.54). First pitch is at 1:10 p.m.
GIANT JOTTINGS: The announced attendance was 32,301. … Elias Sports Bureau reports that on Friday night, Giants RHP Cory Gearrin became the third pitcher in MLB history to play the outfield and earn a save in the same game since 1969, when saves became an official statistic. … The Giants have 26 blown saves this season, the most by a San Francisco staff since 2005(28).
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