Category: San Francisco Giants

MLB podcast with Daniel Dullum: SF CEO Baer returns after domestic abuse suspension; Yanks-Sox slugfest in London; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

President and CEO Larry Baer will reportedly wield less power upon his July 2 return from suspension. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

On the MLB podcast with Daniel:

1 Larry Baer will return as Giants president/CEO but with less power

2 Yankees, Red Sox light up scoreboard in London

3 Benches clear after Cincinnati Reds Yasiel Puig hit by pitch; reliever calls him ‘stupid as f–k’

4 Fernando Rodney ties obscure save record

5 Mets apologize for putting two living players in memorial montage of 1969 Mets

Daniel Dullum does the MLB podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Greinke remains undefeated at Oracle Park in Diamondbacks win 4-3

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from sfgate.com: Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke works against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 29, 2019, in San Francisco

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Eduardo Escobar came up with the biggest hit of the night when the Arizona Diamondbacks needed it the most.

Escobar singled to center field off of Sam Dyson in the top of the seventh inning, as the Diamondbacks hung on to defeat the San Francisco Giants 4-3 before a crowd of 31,600 at Oracle Park.

Drew Pomeranz pitched well for the second straight game, as he went five innings, walking just two and striking out seven.

If you remember in his last outing against the Colorado Rockies on Monday night, Pomeranz gave up two runs in five innings and matched his career-high in strikeouts with 11. The 11 strikeouts by Pomeranz were the most by a Giants pitcher since the pitchers mound was moved back to its current distance of 60 feet six inches in 1893.

Pomeranzs 10.94 strikeouts per nine innings is sixth-best in the National League, amongst pitchers with a minimum of 60 innings pitched.

Kevin Pillar dropped a fly ball off the bat of Adam Jones for an error that led the Diamondbacks breaking the 0-0 tie in the top of the seventh inning, and the ball glanced off his glove that allowed Tim Locastro to move up an additional 90 feet.

Dyson came up with the defensive play of the game, as he snared a Ketel Marte comebacker and ran LoCastro back towards third base, where he tagged him out.

After the Marte fielders choice, Escobar lashed his base hit to right-center field that proved to be the only run that Zack Greinke would need on the evening.

Greinke went seven innings, allowing zero runs, on five hits, walking no one and striking out six on his way to his ninth win of the season for the Diamondbacks.

in his career, Greinke is 6-0 with a 1.19 earned run average at Oracle Park and has not allowed a run in his last two starts, 15.0 consecutive scoreless innings.

Mark Melancon replaced Dyson in the top of the eighth inning and immediately found him in trouble, as he walked Christian Walker, then Nick Ahmed singled and then Alex Avila singled to load the bases. Melancon then regrouped to strike out LoCastro; however, then Brandon Crawford committed a throwing error on a single by pinch hitter Ilemaro Vargas that got by Pablo Sandoval for an error that allowed both Walker and Ahmed to score.

Jones lengthened the Diamondbacks up to 4-0, as his single just got by a diving Brandon Belt at first base that allowed Avila to score.

The Giants got out of the inning, as Belt made a great play at first base, as he snared the Marte hit, threw to Crawford for the second out, who in turn, threw to Belt, to turn the double play and end the inning.

In the bottom of the inning, Pillar walked to lead off the inning, and after a Joe Panik ground out to Yoan Lopez, pinch hitter Tyler Austin to put runners on first and second base; however, Belt struck out and then pinch-hitter Buster Posey popped out to end the inning.

Austin made the defensive play of the game in the top of the ninth inning, as he got turned around on the warning track on an Escobar hit and dove to make a great catch on the warning track.

Down to their last at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, Sandoval led off the inning with a single off of Andrew Chafin. That would be the end of the line for Chafin, who turned the ball over to Yoshihisa Hirano, who committed a throwing error on an Alex Dickerson dribbler up the first base line. That would be the only batter that Hirano would face.

Stephen Vogt provided the crowd with instant gratification, as he parked a three-run home run onto the arcade.

This was the second home run of the season for Vogt, and both of them have come in the ninth inning. His previous home run came on May 3 against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark that tied up the game, in a game that the Giants would eventually win 12-11 in 11 innings.

Unfortunately, the Giants could not muster that tying run, as closer Greg Holland, who surrendered the three-run home run to Vogt was able to re-group to get Crawford to strikeout, Pillar to fly out to LoCastro in center and then Panik struck out to end the game.

NOTES: Prior to the game, it was announced that the Giants have signed first-round selection Hunter Bishop, along with second-round pick Logan Wyatt, fourth-round pick Tyler Fitzgerald and eighth-round pick Caleb Kilian.

Giants President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer will return to the organization on Tuesday.

Board Member Rob Dean will take the role as chairman of the team, and will continue to as the designated control person with Major League Baseball.

Baer released a statement earlier this afternoon.

I write this today after four months away from the Giants, the team I have loved since childhood and the organization I have served most of my adult life. Our hundreds of Giants employees, millions of Giants fans and the community-at-large have been on my mind every day, and I am truly sorry for letting you down.

While my time away has been difficult on many levels, it has allowed me opportunities for introspection and, with the help of some wonderful people, growth. Ive been able to step back and take stock of myself as a person and as a leader. I am wiser for it, and the work continues. The journey of self-discovery, like so much in life, is ongoing and never-ending.
The overwhelming emotion I feel right now is gratitude. I am appreciative beyond words for the hard work and professionalism of the Giants staff and executive team during this difficult period, and Im looking forward to thanking each of them in person.

The Giants are in a major transition on and off the
field. This includes some structural changes, which I fully embrace. Major League Baseball is a complex and ever-changing industry, now more than ever. Success requires leadership that listens to and learns from all voices, that leverages the ideas and talent of every person in every department, along with tapping the resources and energy of our fans and the Bay Area community. I am looking forward to spending the next weeks and months listening, learning and discovering how, together, we can best serve this great organization and community.

UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner will look for his fifth win of the season, as he takes the mound in the series and home stand finale on Sunday afternoon for the Giants, while Robbie Ray will toe the rubber for the Diamondbacks.

Crawford reaches milestone in Giants’ 6-3 win over D-Backs

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Since coming to the San Francisco Giants, Alex Dickerson has been a spark plug for the team.

Dickerson hit a mammoth solo home run, and Buster Posey added two runs batted in, as the Giants evened up this four-game series with a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in front of 35,391 at Oracle Park.

In all eight games while in a Giants uniform, Dickerson has reached safely and is hitting .423 (11-for-26) with four doubles, a triple and two home runs and 12 RBIs during that stretch.

With the victory, the Giants stopped a five-game losing streak against the Diamondbacks at Oracle Park.

This was the 5th time this season that the Giants have gotten at least 12 hits, and their first since getting 15 on June 15 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Dickerson home run was measured at 412 feet, and bounced into McCovey Cove, as the Giants took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

Posey nearly got in the act in the bottom of the third inning, as he hit a ball high off the 24-foot wall in right field that was initially called a home run by first base umpire Rob Drake; however, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovell challenged the ruling and after a 2:00 minute delay, the call was reversed.

Brandon Belt, who walked with one out in the inning, easily scored from first base to lengthen the Giants lead.

Jake Lamb cut the Giants lead in half in the top of the fourth inning, as he singled to center field to score Jarrod Dyson, who singled to lead off the inning. On the Lamb single, David Peralta advanced to third after he walked two batters prior to Lambs base hit.

Once again it was Posey to drive in another run, as he singled to right field to score Joe Panik and on the play, Mike Yastrzemski went to third and Posey advanced to second on a throwing error by Jones.

Nick Ahmed narrowed the Giants lead down to one for the second time on the evening, as he singled in the top of the sixth inning to Eduardo Escobar, who doubled with one out in the inning and then went to third on a Lamb fly out to Yastrzemski in right field.

Tyler Austin added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he grounded out to Lamb at first base with the bases loaded that allowed Crawford to score from third.

Dickerson drove in his second run of the night in the bottom of the seventh, as he singled to right field to score Yastrzemski.

The Giants final run of the evening came when Matt AdRise uncorked a wild pitch that scored Posey from third base.

Jarrod Dyson drove in the final run of the game for the Diamondbacks in the top of the ninth inning, as he singled off of closer Will Smith that easily scored Carson Kelly from third base. Kelly led off the inning with a single off of Smith.

It was a huge night for Crawford, as the veteran shortstop picked up three hits and his third hit of the night was the 1,000th of his career.

After being mired an 0-for-13 slump since Monday against the Colorado Rockies, Posey broke to 3-for-4 on the night.

The two runs batted in for Posey gave him his first multi-RBI game since May 5 against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark, and his first at home since April 26 against the New York Yankees.

Posey also picked up his first three-hit game since August 10, 2018 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Shawn Anderson went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out three on his way to his third win of the season.

Merrill Kelly went five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out two, as his record fell to 7-8 on the season.

NOTES: Crawford joined some elusive company in the 1,000-hit club for the Giants, as he is just the fifth left-handed batter to get at 1,000 hits for the team since they moved to San Francisco in 1958. He joins Willie McCovey (1,974), Barry Bonds (1,951), Will Clark (1,278) and J.T. Snow (1,007).

Rich Aurilia is the only other shortstop to get at 1,000 hits for the Giants, as he picked up 1,226 hits in his Giants career.

Two of the Giants minor leaguers have been picked for the SiriusXM Futures Game at Progressive Field in Cleveland on July 7. Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos of the Single-A San Jose Giants will be heading to Cleveland, and will play for the National League in the new format that begins this season.

This is the first selection for Bart, and it is the second for Ramos, who played in the game last season at Nationals Park in Washington. Ramos went 1-for-1 in his only at-bat in a 10-6 loss to the United States team.

Steven Duggar, who is currently on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain is expected to join the Triple-A Sacramento Rivercats on Saturday, as he will begin his rehabilitation assignment for the Rivercats, as they face the Albuquerque Isotopes at Raley Field.

UP NEXT: Drew Pomeranz will take the mound for the Giants in the third game of this four-game series, while the Diamondbacks will counter with Zack Greinke.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants’ climb to get out of the cellar a long way off

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: mccoveychronicles.com

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 The San Francisco Giants’ loss last night represented their fifth loss in six games and they have not been out of the NL West cellar since May.

#2 They faced some solid pitching from the Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Alex Young (1-0, 1.80 ERA) who pitched five innings against the Giants for three hits and five strikeouts holding the Giants to just one run.

#3 Michael talks about putting on a finger on what’s wrong with the Giants hitters. Everyone in the lineup on Thursday night are hitting below .300.

#4 The Giants starter Tyler Beede pitched 5 1/3 for four hits, two earned runs and three strikeouts — a good outing, but the relievers gave up three more runs in the 5-1 loss.

#5 Starting pitchers for Friday night at Oracle Park. For the Diamondbacks, Merrill Kelly (7-7, 3.93 ERA), and for the San Francisco Giants, Shaun Anderson (2-2, 3.94 ERA).

Catch Michael for the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants’ bats go to sleep again in 5-1 loss to D-Backs

Published on by jeremy2878Leave a comment

Photo credit: @KNBR

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – Arizona’s Alex Young looked like an All-Star in his major-league debut Thursday night. But then again, he was pitching against the Giants, who aren’t going to remind anybody of the 1927 Yankees any time soon.

As it was, he started his big-league career with a win, as his Diamondbacks cruised to a 5-1 win over the Giants at Oracle Park. The Giants have now lost four of their last five games, and they have been in last place with no interruption since May 9.

With the exception of one exceptionally-long fly ball in the fourth inning, Young did not run into much difficulty navigating through a punchless Giants lineup that struggled to get the ball out of the infield for most of the night.

“The guy threw a lot of cutters, mixed it up,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We couldn’t do much with him.

“(But) we’ve got to swing the bats. Three hits, very little action out there, it’s hard to win a game like that.”

He went five innings and surrendered only a run on three hits, walking and striking out five, throwing only 74 pitches in the process. His only real hiccup was a home run off the bat of Brandon Belt. From that point on, the Giants only got only runner past second base.

Giants starter Tyler Beede (1-3, 6.96 ERA) held his own and even traded zeroes with Young for the first three innings.

“He threw well, he did a nice job out there,” Bochy said. “He threw more strikes, looked more in control. He probably could have kept going, but I had Reyes (Moronta) fresh (in the bullpen). He looked much better in commanding the strike zone and staying in his delivery, and hitting his spots a lot better.”

However, he ran into some trouble to start the fourth, as he walked Ketel Marte, who will be starting for the National League at second base in this year’s All-Star Game, and then watched as David Peralta’s hot grounder up the middle skip off shortstop Brandon Crawford’s glove and bounce into shallow left-center for a double.

With runners on second and third with only one out, Christian Walker’s grounder to second scored Ketel Marte and gave Arizona a 1-0 lead, but Beede escaped the inning without any further damage.

The lead didn’t last very long. Belt led off the bottom half and took Young deep, his solo homer sailing just over the reach of center fielder Jarrod Dyson and tying the game.

However, the Diamondbacks just as quickly found themselves back in the lead. Beede made a mistake in location, and Nick Ahmed made him pay with a solo shot that went screaming down the tunnel past the left-field wall.

Beede gave up only those two runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings, walking three and striking out another three. Those numbers typically stand a good chance to translate to a win. However, with a lineup that the Giants trot out these days, that’s nowhere close to a sure thing.

“It’s going to be up to us to put some runs on the board,” Bochy said. “Our margin of error is so small because we just don’t score a lot of runs, and one little mistake, it seems like it cost us.”

Two innings later, the door was effectively slammed shut on the Giants’ evening, when Carson Kelly’s smashed one over the wall in left-center off reliever Trevor Gott to give Arizona a 4-1 lead.

Dahl’s grand slam carries Rockies past Giants, 6-3

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Given the Colorado Rockies’ history of harvesting sluggers over the last 26 major league seasons, David Dahl’s accomplishment on Wednesday ranks as no small feat.

Dahl’s grand slam off Jeff Samardzija propelled the Rockies in a 6-3 series clinching win as the centerfielder became the first Colorado player to hit a slam in San Francisco.

Not Larry Walker, Todd Helton, Nolan Arenado or the Big Cat, Andres Galarraga, but Dahl, the Rockies’ emerging talent with just over 200 big league contests under his belt.

“Days like today validate what you’re seeing from David,” manager Bud Black said of Dahl. “I think it’s great. I know that his motivation and his desire is to be the best player he can be, and he’s working hard and what I like is he’s doing it on both sides.”

Dahl’s 10th home run of the season wiped out the Giants’ early 2-0 lead, and was largely responsible for pinning a loss on Samardzija, who surrendered five runs on just three hits in five innings. Samardzija followed Drew Pomeranz and Madison Bumgarner on the strikeout parade, fanning six, but he couldn’t get a big out facing Dahl when he needed it.

“A two-run homer and we’re fine there, and the game’s still going our way. But when it’s four it’s unfortunate,” Samardzija said.

The Giants struck for two runs in the first, interrupting a 13-inning scoreless streak, but after Pablo Sandoval’s solo shot off Rockies’ starter German Marquez in the third, the bats went quiet again. The Giants were shutout for the fifth time at home on Monday, and scored just five runs in the series. On Wednesday, when Marquez departed, things really dried up: the Giants managed just one base hit over the final four frames.

Marquez wasn’t particularly sharp, allowing seven hits, two runs and the home run to Sandoval, but he didn’t need to be with Dahl contributing five RBI to the cause, and allowing the Rockies to lead from the third inning on. Marquez picked up his second win this season at Oracle Park, having limited the Giants to one-hit on April 14.

“German was off. It was a combination of not his usual breaking balls and lack of fastball command,” said Black. “He had to work really hard to get through that.”

The Giants tinkered with their lineup–moving Brandon Belt into the leadoff spot, spelling the scuffling Evan Longoria with Sandoval, and giving Buster Posey a day off from his catching duties–but not much of that tinkering took hold after a rare, first inning outburst.

The Giants open a four-game set on Thursday against the Diamondbacks, who just bounced back from the losing a series to the Giants over the weekend by taking two of three from the first-place Dodgers.

Only the Marlins (30-48) have a worse record than the Giants among the 15 National League clubs. The Giants have been particularly deficient at home winning just 16 of their 39 contests so far.

Arizona’s Alex Young will face the Giants’ Tyler Beede in the series opener on Thursday.

Bumgarner looks dominant in Giants’ 4-2 win

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @KNBR

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — After one of his worst starts of the 2019 season, Madison Bumgarner came back with a vengeance.

In six innings of work, Bumgarner struck out a season-high 11 and added a RBI single, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-2.

Bumgarner, who raised his record to 4-7 on the season followed up a terrible start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he allowed six runs in 3.2 innings of work.

“He’s shown that ability so many times to come off a bad start and put it behind him and wash it off and bounce back,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He did that tonight. What a great game he threw.”

Bumgarner did not give up a hit until Ian Desmond hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning, as he stopped a streak of retiring 10 in a row.

The Rockies also scored in the top of the sixth inning, as left fielder Alex Dickerson lost the ball in the lights that allowed Charlie Blackmon score on a double by David Dahl that cut the Giants lead down to one run.

“I’ve been getting caught just pitching to just one side pretty much every pitch,” Bumgarner said. “These guys are too good to do that to. The plate is small enough as it is so you better use the whole thing.”

In six innings of work, Bumgarner gave up two runs on three hits and three walks along with 11 strikeouts. It was the first double-digit strikeout game for Bumgarner since April 2, 2017 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Donovan Solano picked up a single of his own in the bottom of the fourth inning, and then Bumgarner came up with one of his own to lengthen the Giants lead up to 3-1.
This was the first appearance for Chi Chi Gonzalez in the majors since the 2016 season, and he got off to a great start, as he struck out the side in the top of the first inning. In all, Gonzalez gave up three runs on six hits in five innings of work.

Tyler Austin put the finishing touches on the scoring in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he hit a pinch-hit home run.

It was the seventh home run of the season for Austin and his second pinch-hit home run for him this season.

The bullpen trio of Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Will Smith pitched a perfect three innings, following up Derek Hollands three innings of perfect work on Monday night.
Smith pitched the ninth inning to notch his 21st save in 21 chances this season.

NOTES: Bumgarners 11 strikeouts moved him past Matt Cain for third place in San Francisco Giants history.

Brandon Belt batted leadoff for just the second time in his major-league career, and he struck out on three pitches in his first at-bat against Gonzalez.

“It didn’t look too smart the first at-bat,” Bochy said. “I told him, `You’re supposed to make me look good, but three pitches and you sit down.’ He laughed.”

UP NEXT: Jeff Samardzija takes the mound for the Giants on Wednesday afternoon, while the Rockies will counter with German Marquez.

Not Here, Not Now: Scuffling Giants don’t get a reprieve against the Rockies’ Gray

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The consensus: yeah, the Giants’ offense is struggling, but Jon Gray was on top of his game Monday at Oracle Park.

Gray, a familiar face starting for the eighth time against the Giants since 2015, won for the first time against San Francisco, pitching shutout baseball for six innings in the Rockies 2-0 win.

And it wasn’t how Gray did it, it was when he did it. Three of his six strikeouts came in the fifth and sixth innings with a runner in scoring position, and with all of his arsenal working at that point, the hitters–Alex Dickerson, Mike Yastrzemski and Evan Longoria–were left looking foolish.

Opportunities for the Giants to get back into what was a two-run ballgame throughout, appeared and vanished so quickly, the home crowd had little time to gasp, groan or fuss.

“His fastball had a bit more life, carry and location to it than he’s shown the last few starts,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “Then he started landing the curveball later in the game.”

Gray was 0-3 with a 5.18 ERA against the Giants coming in, but he wasn’t that guy on Monday. He started fast–striking out Yastrzemski and Buster Posey in the first–and finished faster. As the game progressed, Gray maintained the life on his fastball, while not missing on his slider, which confused the Giants’ hitters by consistently arriving at the plate 8 mph slower than his heater. All three of his final strikeout victims swung and missed at the slider to conclude their at-bat, but they also whiffed on it earlier in their at-bats as well.

“I have so much confidence in (my slider) right now. I feel like I can throw it in any count, any time, and use it as a put-away pitch,” Gray said.

Drew Pomeranz was similarly effective for the Giants, striking out a career-best 11 batters in just five innings of work, but his one mistake–a home run allowed to David Dahl–was a familiar one. Pomeranz has given up 15 home runs in his 15 starts this season, already a career-high for him.

Still, Pomeranz needed to pitch better given his 2-7 record and 7.09 ERA coming in, and he did that by pitching effectively up in the zone, and displaying good, late movement on his heater with the exception of the pitch to Dahl. The score ended the evening for Pomeranz prematurely with manager Bruce Bochy needing a pinch-hitter to maximize a rally in the fifth.

“I just was thinking attack. I didn’t want to walk guys, even though I did walk a couple guys,” Pomeranz said. “Some of the other guys had three-pitch strikeouts so it kind of helped balance it out.”

In conclusion, the Giants’ offense just didn’t respond. After a disappointing end on Sunday, in which they went hitless in the final, four innings of tie ballgame, losing 3-2 to the Diamondbacks in 10 innings, they managed just six hits on Monday.

And the clutch hitting was non-existent: the Giants are 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position over their last two games. They were shut out for the ninth time this season, and the fifth at Oracle Park.

The Giants, losers of five of their last seven, will have Madison Bumgarner on the mound Tuesday.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Dickerson and Anderson have great series, but Giants can’t overcome D-Backs

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants pitcher Shaun Anderson throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning during a baseball game, Sunday, June 23, 2019, in Phoenix.

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 How impressive was the Giants outfielder Alex Dickerson in the Arizona Diamondbacks series? He was collecting the hits in his first series with the team.

#2 Shaun Anderson, the Giants pitcher, has had himself a great year so far. Who can forget his first game at Oracle Park getting two hits to help his own cause and winning, and on Sunday, no exception again — pitching in a 3-2 loss, but a good outing getting six innings in five hits and two runs while striking out two.

#3 Anderson said during the game manager Bruce Bochy could have pinched hit for him, but kept him out there and he got that quality start.

#4 Critics have said the Giants have the worst lineup in the franchise’s history? No one is hitting .300 or above at this stage of the season.

#5 The Colorado Rockies come to Oracle Park tonight and will start Jon Gray (7-5) against the Giants’ Drew Pomeranz (2-7).

Morris Phillips does the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Locastro’s RBI single in 10th helps Snakes sink Giants 3-2

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

sfgate.com: Arizona Diamondbacks’ Tim Locastro hits an RBI single against the San Francisco Giants in the third inning during a baseball game, Sunday, June 23, 2019, in Phoenix.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, June 23, 2019

PHOENIX — After losing six games in a row, the Arizona Diamondbacks were ready to celebrate something.

Centerfielder Tim Locastro lit the fuse for the occasion with a 10th inning walk-off run-scoring single that gave the D-Backs a 3-2 NL West win over the San Francisco Giants Sunday before 25,071 at Chase Field.

As soon as Locastro’s drive shot past Giants third baseman Evan Longoria, the Diamondback dugout emptied onto the field.

“Those are the things you look for as a team, when you finally have something good happen,” Arizona Manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’ve been coming in here talking about losing baseball games, and that’s hard. It’s tough on the team and tough on everyone.

“But you have to find a way to keep grinding. That showed the personality of this team.”

The Diamondbacks loaded the bases against San Francisco reliever Mark Melancon (3-2) before Locastro delivered his game-winner. After Christian Walker led off the Arizona 10th with a single, he was erased at second when Nick Ahmed hit into a fielder’s choice. Pinch-hitter Jarrod Dyson walked and Carson Kelly was intentionally walked.

Ahmed scored the winning run from third on Locastro’s drive over the third base bag.

‘With one out, I’m just trying to get the ball to the outfield,” Locastro said. “Actually, I knew that (Melancon’s) tendency is to come in a little bit, so I was looking in there and got one over the third baseman’s head.

“As soon as I hit it, I saw (Longoria) jump up for it. As soon as I saw it drop, I gave it a fist pump and knew we had the win. I was very excited.”

“It didn’t surprise me that (Dyson) drew that walk,’ Lovullo said. “He was fighting off pitches and that was a key moment of the game. It’s built because of Christian Walker having a good at-bat and getting on base.”

Arizona took a 1-0 lead in the third when Caleb Joseph drew a one-out walk and scored on Locastro’s base hit.

The Giants tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth. Evan Longoria led off with a single, moved to third on Brandon Belt’s double and scored on an infield groundout by Stephen Vogt.

The Diamondbacks regained the lead at 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Adam Jones reached on a strike three wild pitch, moved to third on Eduardo Escobar’s single and scored on a base hit by Christian Walker.

Kevin Pillar tied the game at 2-2 with his 10th home run of the season to lead off the Giants seventh, hastening Merrill Kelly’s departure. He worked six-plus innings, struck out nine, walked two, and gave up two earned runs on four hits.

The D-Backs bullpen — Andrew Chafin, Yoan Lopez, Greg Holland and winning pitcher Matt Andriese (4-4) held San Francisco scoreless in the final four innings, with a combined three strikeouts and no walks or hits.

“It was pretty bad to give up that leadoff homer to Pillar. It would have been liked getting out of there with a lead, but the guys did a great job of picking me up and getting a huge victory,” Merritt Kelly said. “Hopefully, we’ve got some good energy going.”

Giants starter Shaun Anderson threw a strong six innings, giving up two runs on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Relievers Reyes Moronta and Sam Dyson held the Snakes scoreless and hitless in their combined three innings.

“We just couldn’t get anything going with the bats,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘They got the big hit, we didn’t. That’s the difference in the game.”

Lovullo said that Ketel Marte was not available for today’s game, even going into extra innings. Marte had been listed as day-to-day after suffering a left groin cramp on Friday.

“There was a minimal risk, but we held him back today. (Marte) will be out there when we play the Dodgers.”

Locastro added, “Now we have to get on a streak and that’s the goal moving forward.”

The Giants return home to host Colorado Monday through Wednesday. Lefthander Drew Pomeranz (2-7, 7.09 ERA) faces the Rockies’ Jon Gray (7-5, 4.18 ERA) in Monday’s series opener. San Francisco’s probables for Tuesday and Wednesday are Madison Bumgarner (3-7, 4.28 ERA) and Jeff Samardzija (4-6, 4.23 ERA).

TAGS: Tim Locastro, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, MLB