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.
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