Arizona Diamondbacks’ Paul Goldschmidt follows through on a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, April 6, 2017, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, April 5, 2017

PHOENIX, Ariz. – San Francisco’s season-opening series came to a disappointing end Thursday night, when Arizona won 9-3 on the strength of back-to-back homers by David Peralta and Paul Goldschmidt.

Ex-Diamondback Aaron Hill opened the scoring with a solo home run to left in the top of the third inning. In the fourth, Brandon Belt scored on Brandon Crawford’s single to left. Crawford was thrown out trying to take second, but the Giants led 2-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, Peralta and Goldschmidt connected on back-to-back bombs off Giants starter Jeff Samardzija (0-1), tying the game at 2-2.

Buster Posey’s RBI double to the left-field corner drove in Hunter Pence, putting San Francisco ahead 3-2. But the D-Backs surged ahead to stay with four runs in the sixth inning and three more in the eighth.

Jake Lamb hit a three-run, 408-foot homer to right-center, and Jeremy Hazelbaker added an RBI single in the sixth for the Diamondbacks.

Arizona tacked on three more in the eighth on A.J. Pollock’s two-run double to left-center and an RBI double by Peralta.

Samardzija worked 5 1/3 innings in his first 2017 start, giving up six earned runs on eight hits, but also struck out nine and walked two. Hunter Strickland and Ty Blach finished up.

D-Backs starter Robbie Ray didn’t last much longer, going 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six, walked three, gave up three earned runs on three hits and wound up with a no-decision. Reliever Jorge De La Rosa threw 1/3 of an inning to get the win, Randall Delgado bounced back from a horrendous outing on Opening Day and earned a hold, as did Andrew Chafin. J.J. Hoover finished the night with a scoreless ninth.

The Giants season-opening road trip continues to San Diego, where they open a three-game series against the Padres.

DOMINGUEZ SUSPENDED

Giants minor league pitcher Jose Dominguez was suspended for 142 games Thursday, following his second positive test for banned substances under baseball’s minor league drug program.

Dominguez, 26, is on the Giants’ Triple-A Sacramento roster. He tested positive for metabolites of Stanozolol, according to the commissioner’s office.

Dominguez received a 50-game suspension in September 2009 for testing positive for Stanozolol, and received a 25-game ban in November 2012 for an unspecified violation.