Giants 7, Diamondbacks 1
PHOENIX, Aug. 4 — Second baseman Donovan Solano and left fielder Alex Dickerson each went 2-for-4 with three RBI as the San Francisco Giants topped the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7–1, Wednesday night. Giants ace Kevin Gausman outdueled Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen to pitch his team to victory.
Both pitchers started the game with three scoreless innings, each allowing only one hit in the process. Giants second baseman Donovan Solano opened the scoring with a two-out solo home run to left in the top of the fourth. The first real threat from the Diamondbacks came in the bottom of the fifth. However, a one-out double by shortstop Nick Ahmed went to waste, as second baseman Jake Hager and catcher Bryan Holaday followed with consecutive strikeouts.
Giants, Diamondbacks Starting Pitchers Tire
The Giants extended their lead to 3–0 in the top of the sixth as Gallen ran out of gas. A single by La Stella and walk by left fielder Alex Dickerson sandwiched a lineout to short by catcher Buster Posey. After shortstop Brandon Crawford lined to left, Solano smoked Gallen’s 109th pitch into right for a two-run single. Kole Calhoun’s errant throw home allowed Solano to reach second. Brett de Geus came into the game to get center fielder Steven Duggar out. It only took one pitch to do the job, forcing a grounder to third.
The Diamondbacks got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Consecutive singles by pinch-hitter David Peralta and Calhoun brought up center fielder Ketel Marte. He smashed a hot grounder to Crawford, who was playing up the middle. Crawford raced to second, barely beating Calhoun for a force play. With runners now on the corners, first baseman Asdrubal Cabrera dumped an RBI single to right. Gausman limited the damage to the one run, retiring third baseman Drew Ellis on a liner to short and striking out left fielder Daulton Varsho. The Varsho strikeout came on his last pitch of the night.
A Strikeout-Wild Pitch Leads to Disaster
Jake Faria took the mound for the Diamondbacks in the top of the seventh. It would have been a 1-2-3 inning if it weren’t for a wild pitch on the third strike to first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr, who would have been the third out. Instead, the Giants had new life. They made Faria and the Diamondbacks pay. After a walk by La Stella, Posey ripped an RBI double to left. 4–1. Dickerson followed with a dagger of a three-run home run, a no-doubt liner to right-center. 7–1. Up came Crawford, whose single down the right-field line past a diving Cabrera rubbed salt in the wound. Things grew worse when Crawford stole second and reached third on a wild pitch, but Solano ultimately lined to right, mercifully ending the half-inning.
Jay Jackson took the mound in the bottom of the seventh with the Diamondbacks facing a daunting six-run deficit. He struck out three of the four batters he faced. Two — Ahmed and pinch-hitter Josh VanMeter — came on called third strikes, and both were generous ring-ups by plate umpire Ramon de Jesus.
JB Bukauskas pitched around a two-out single in the top of the eighth. Tony Watson pitched the bottom of the inning. With one out, Marte singled to right, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. A strikeout by Cabrera and grounder to third by Ellis left him stranded as the inning ended. Sean Poppen and Jose Alvarez pitched a scoreless ninth for the Diamondbacks and Giants, respectively, cementing the win for the Giants.
Postgame Reflections
Gallen’s outing was, pitch-wise, the longest of any Diamondback this season. Gallen did not feel any more tired than usual after the game. He was more concerned about his “stuff.” Gallen said, “I felt like it was okay. (It wasn’t) as sharp as last outing. But yeah, I felt like I had pretty decent stuff. (The Giants) were just taking some good pitches. They were just a little bit more patient and weren’t willing to swing at those 0-2, 1-2 pitches.”
Manager Torey Lovullo spoke after the game about the deep pitch count for Gallen. “I felt like he was deserving to get back in the dugout down one run. I’ve been really careful with these guys and haven’t built up a lot of mileage on them. (At times,) I’ve clipped them early. I feel like there were times where, because I have done that, I’d be able to give them a little extra space. Today was one of those days. (He had) given up one run through five innings, (so) I brought him back out for the sixth. I just felt like giving him the chance to come back in the dugout with an opportunity to win the baseball game.
“(That’s) always my first play with starting pitchers. Unfortunately, we never got there. There were a couple of prolonged at bats. We had targeted Solano as a potential last batter…but it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to.”
Looking Ahead
Gausman (10–5) snagged his 10th win of the season for the Giants, while Gallen (1–6) took yet another disappointing loss for the Diamondbacks. The Giants and Diamondbacks will conclude their four-game series Thursday afternoon at 12:40 pm Arizona Time. Alex Wood (9–3, 3.83 ERA) will pitch for the Giants against Merrill Kelly (7–8, 4.38 ERA) of the Diamondbacks. The win kept the Giants (68–40) three and a half games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West, while the basement-dwelling Diamondbacks (34–75) are now 34 games out of first.
Main Photo:
Players mentioned:
Donovan Solano, Alex Dickerson, Kevin Gausman, Zac Gallen, Nick Ahmed, Jake Hager, Bryan Holaday, Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Kole Calhoun, Brett de Geus, Steven Duggar, David Peralta, Ketel Marte, Asdrubal Cabrera, Drew Ellis, Daulton Varsho, Jake Faria, LaMonte Wade Jr, Jay Jackson, Josh VanMeter, J.B. Bukauskas, Tony Watson, Sean Poppen, Jose Alvarez, Torey Lovullo, Alex Wood, Merrill Kelly
