The Arizona Diamondbacks Daulton Varsho (12) signals safe and San Francisco Giants catcher Joey Bart (right) holds the ball up to show umpire in the bottom of the fourth inning at Chase Field in Phoenix on Sat Sep 24, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Saturday, September 24, 2022

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Arizona batted around in the fourth inning, an outburst that provided the Diamondbacks and starting pitcher Merrill Kelly with all the offense they needed to defeat San Francisco 5-3 Saturday.

The loss snapped a five-game Giants winning streak.

Kelly (13-7) continued his mastery over the Giants, giving up two earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out six. Reyes Moronta struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to get his second save.

The Diamondbacks tallied five times while sending nine hitters to the plate in the fourth. Pavin Smith and Daulton Varsho led off the inning with back-to-back singles off Alex Cobb (6-7), and Christian Walker followed with an RBI single, driving in Smith.

A one-out walk to Josh Rojas loaded the bases, then Alek Thomas hit into a fielder’s choice to first. Wilmer Flores threw home, but his throw pulled the catcher, Joey Bart, off the plate, allowing Varsho to score, and the bases remained loaded. Carson Kelly’s sacrifice fly to center drove in Walker, and Geraldo Perdomo singled to right, driving in Rojas and Thomas.

“Two things – did Wilmer actually get the bag with his foot, and unless you get that close-up angle, it was pretty difficult to tell,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “The second thing – I think Joey thought he still had his foot on the plate. Then he had to reach for the ball and that pulled him off the plate. I think all of that happened really fast.

“Maybe Wilmer thought he grazed the bag and thought he could get two outs. I don’t think anybody is at fault. I think it was a very tricky play that didn’t turn out in our favor.”

Mike Yastrzemski led off the Giants sixth with a 413-foot home run to right, his 15th of the season, cutting the San Francisco deficit to 5-2. Yastrzemski, who was 2-for-3, also had a double in the first inning.

The Giants scored first on an RBI single by Jason Vosler in the fourth, driving in Brandon Crawford, who reached on a two-out single.

Cobb threw 93 pitches in five innings, giving up all five Diamondback runs on five hits. He struck out three and walked two.

The weekend series concludes on Sunday afternoon. Drew Jameson (2-1, 1.38) starts for the Diamondbacks, while San Francisco has yet to announce a starter, and could opt for a bullpen game.

GIANTS JOTTINGS: LHP Thomas Szapucki left Saturday’s game with left hip tightness. Kapler said the decision to pull Szapucki was a precautionary measure. … San Francisco made a number of roster moves prior to Saturday’s game – OF Luis Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day injured list (lower back strain), INF-C Ford Proctor was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento, and OF Lewis Brinson cleared waivers and was outrighted to the River Cats. … Proctor became the 65th player used by the Giants this season, setting a franchise record in that category. … Announced attendance on Saturday at Chase Field was 24,504. The outside temperature at game time was 102 degrees. Time of the game was 2:37.