San Francisco Giants catcher Joey Bart slugs a fifth inning RBI double against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix on Wed Jul 6, 2022 (AP News photo)
By Daniel Dullum
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
PHOENIX, Ariz. – San Francisco snapped a six-game losing streak along with salvaging the third game of its series in the Valley of the Sun, as the Giants came from behind to beat Arizona 7-5 Wednesday at Chase Field.
“It doesn’t quite feel like ‘finally,’” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “This was how we saw things unfold last year with our pinch-hitting; that’s a testament to these guys staying with it and believing in themselves. We believe in all of our guys. We win as a team, and we believe all of our guys are prepared for the moments.”
San Francisco broke a 4-4 deadlock with a three-run rally in the top of the ninth, with Austin Slater providing the key blow with a two-RBI double off Diamondbacks reliever Sean Poppen.
“I think that when we get into streaks like the one we were just in, the game can pile up on you, and it feels like bad things are always going to happen,” Slater said. “So to break that feeling, the guys had to come up with big hits in big situations and I thought we did that up and down the lineup tonight.
“I don’t think it was just one guy. Joey had a huge hit with an almost-homer, (Crawford) beating out that ground ball was a huge play.”
On his key ninth-inning double, Slater said, “I was just looking for something up over the plate. Poppen has a good sinker that he gets in on the hands, so I was just looking for something up and try not to do too much and just get the barrel on it.”
“Last night, Slates came close to changing the game for us. Tonight, he may have won the game for us,’ Kapler said. “He’s always going to be one of our best options against a left-handed pitcher. If you look at his numbers, they’re almost like superstar numbers against lefties. Slates is on the roster to take those at-bats.”
The Diamondbacks responded with a threat in the bottom of the ninth against Giants closer Camilo Doval. Geraldo Perdomo opened the inning with a walk and scored on a pinch-hit single by Jake Hager, pulling the Snakes to within 7-5. Alek Thomas walked prior to Hager’s hit, and Christian Walker was walked to load the bases.
That chased Doval, and Sam Long was summoned from the San Francisco bullpen. Pinch-hitter Jordan Luplow struck out to end the game, giving Long his first save of the season.
John Brebbia (4-1), the third of six Giants pitchers used, picked up the win, tossing a scoreless eighth. Doval was credited with his second hold.
“Sam is always a good option,” Kapler said. “We trust all of our pitchers in the biggest moments. Today, we trusted Sam Long. It’s not fair to expect someone to come in with the bases loaded and get that one out, it’s very tough. Sam is a good strike thrower right now and he’s as good an option as we had, and we trusted him.”
The Giants tied the game at 4-4 on Darrin Ruf’s seventh home run of the season in the top of the eighth inning. Austin Slater, pinch-hitting for Joey Bart, reached on a bunt single. Ruf followed with his game-tying drive to left-center off Diamondbacks reliever Joe Mantiply (1-2), who was tagged with the loss.
“We’ve stressed to Slates for a long time that when the defense is giving him that bunt for a hit opportunity that he should take it,” Kapler said. “He was right on top of it, and if that opportunity presents itself again, maybe take advantage of it again.”
The Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by David Peralta, driving in Ketel Marte, who reached on a two-out double.
Arizona added three runs in the second on a run-scoring double by Josh Rojas and a two-RBI single by Alek Thomas.
The Giants battled back in the fifth inning with a pair of runs despite having a home run overturned by a video replay. Crawford’s two-out double broke up a no-hit bid by Merrill Kelly, followed by a walk to Tommy La Stella. Joey Bart appeared to have hit a three0-run home run, but fan interference was ruled after a video review, returning Bart to second and allowing Crawford to score.
LaMonte Wade Jr. hit into a fielder’s choice, driving in La Stella, cutting the Arizona lead to 4-2.
Giants starter Alex Cobb turned in what Kapler called “a courageous performance,” citing his six-inning effort despite not feeling well. “That was a huge, important performance for us.” Cobb gave up four earned runs on seven hits and a walk, with three strikeouts.
Kelly wound up going 6 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on two hits and three walks with six strikeouts.
The Giants’ road trip continues on Thursday with a four-game series in San Diego, as San Francisco looks for an opportunity to gain ground on the Padres, who are in second place in the NL West. Saturday’s game will be nationally televised on FOX.
“It’s good to get the win tonight. Now, it’s on to the Padres tomorrow,” Kapler said. “We played better baseball tonight, we got more key hits tonight, made more plays, made more pitches.
“We’re not going to get too high or too low. There’s not going to be any panic or over-celebration. We expect this type of performance from ourselves.”
