San Francisco Giants LaMonte Wade Jr does the home run trot after hitting a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Aug 1, 2023 (AP News photo)
Arizona (57-51). 000 012 000. – 3. 6. 0
San Francisco (59-49). 000 003 100. – 4. 9. 0
Time: 2:22
Attendance: 25,806
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
By Lewis Rubman
SAN FRANCISCO–When the Giants duked it out with Arizona tonight, there were a couple of players in the Diamondbacks’ dugout who looked as if they’d shown up early for this coming weekend’s continuation of the Battle of the Bay. Third baseman Jace Peterson and southpaw reliever Sam Moll now wear the Rattlers’ rags, a costume change that I suspect will benefit both the traded players and their new team.
Peterson is likely to have better hitters behind him than he did with Oakland, although Carson Kelly (.174) and Alek Thomas (.237), who followed him in tonight’s D-Back lineup, hardly strike fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers. Moll will enjoy having a less porous defense than he had with the green and gold.
The Giants, on the other hand, did little to strengthen their roster at the trade deadline. The addition of AJ Pollock, who started tonight in left field, batting ninth and went 0 for 3, may prove to be helpful, but old and injury sounds like more of the same to me.
They did, however, complete another transaction that affected tonight’s lineup, recalling Isan Díaz from the River Cats, to replace Mike Yastrzemski, who was placed on the 10 day injured with a strained left hamstring. Díaz batted in the eighth spot and took the field at second base.
Whatever the effects of the teams’ response to the trade deadline turn out to be, tonight the Giants beat the Diamondbacks, 4-3 in a thrilling, come from behind battle.
For the first time since July 25, San Francisco’s starting pitcher was a member of their rotation, Alex Cobb, who also started that game for them. In it, he hurled six scoreless innings of three hit ball in a 2-1 win over the Red Sox at Oracle Park, which left him with the 6-3, 2.97 mark with which he came came to work today.
No one in San Francisco’s rotation has better traditional numbers. Cobb pitched extremely well for 4-2/3 innings tonight After that, not well at all. He ended up throwing six full innings an allowing three runs, all earned, on four hits, three of them home runs. He struck out four and issued one base on balls with a pitch count of 84, 53 counting as strikes. He escaped with a no decision and saw his ERA rise to 3.05.
For their part, the Diamondbacks entrusted their fate to the six pitch repertoire of Zac Gallen (11-5, 3.36 at game time), who pitched a scoreless first inning in this year’s All Star Game. (I guess the ASG is the bullpen game to end all bullpen games). He also allowed three runs, all. earned, over six innings and left with a no decision.
Gallen allowed seven hits, one of them a three run homer to Brian Crawford. 59 of his 91 pitches met the definition of strikes, His ERA also rose, to 3.41.
Both pitchers pretty much coasted through the first four innings. No one scored, and Gallen allowed three hits; Cobb, one. Lourdes Gurriel, Jr., changed that in the top of the fifth. With one down, he hammered a 94.6 mph Cobb sinker 413 feet deep into the left center field twilight for his 16th home run of the season and a 1-0 Diamondbacks lead.
Number nine batter Alek Thomas did a encore in the next frame, dumping fly just over the National Car Rental advertisement in left center for a solo home run, his seventh dinger of the year. The ball traveled 385 feet and also came off a Cobb sinker. Ketel Marte varied the script, sending another sinker sailing out of the park to right, making it 3-0, Arizona, after six. It was Marte’s 18th round tripper and 57th RBI of ’23.
San Francisco cane roaring back. with two out in their half of the sixth. Sabol singled to left and scored on a double by Luis Matos that split the outfielders in right center. Then Crawford showed he still had enough pop in his bat to propel a 93.3 mph four seamer 420 feet into for a game tying round tripper to center.
Ryan Walker took over for Cobb to pitch a scoreless seventh and eighth. Miguel Castro relieved Gallen after the seventh inning stretch only to cough up the lead on a solo shot to Levi’s Landing by LaMonte Wade, Jr., giving the Giants’ first baseman 10 homers and 29 RBI for the year. That blast put the Giants ahead for the first time since the 6;45 opening pitch
Austin Adams threw two pitches in the bottom of the eighth. The first was a ball to Joc Peterson, who ined the second pitch off of Adams’ body, causing him to leave the game. Luis Frías replaced him and retired the three Giants he faced.
Walker was back on the mound for the ninth. He surrendered a 3-2 single to Perdomo and got Marte to foul out to third before passing the ball to Sean Manaea. Carroll lined out to left . Then, with Christian Walker at the plate, Patrick Bailey, who had replaced Sabol behind it in the top of the eighth, picked Perdomo off first. The call was reviewed and confirmed.
Walker got well deserved credit for the win. His record now stands at 4-0, 2.35. Castro, now 5-5, 4.06 took the loss. Manaea got the save, his first. Patrick Bailey should have gotten it.
With this win, the Giants are back to a two game lead over the Dbacks for second place in the NL West.
The series will continue tomorrow, Wednesday, at 6:45. Slade Cecconi, with no record this year, is slated to pitch for Arizona; Logan Webb (8-9, 3.49), for the Giants.
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