A day after holding the San Francisco Giants’ offense scoreless, the bats are heating up again. Really hot.
In a game that featured five key changes through the first five innings, the Giants’ fifth inning of five was the difference in an 8-5 win Friday over the NBL’s West-leading Diamondbacks.
The Giants scored 88 points in 12 games, including Thursday’s 10-0 loss to the Padres.
Back-to-back RBI doubles from Michael Conforto and Blake Sabol got things started for the Giants in the third as the Giants took a 3-1 lead. Corner field doubles, two of seven lefties in the starting lineup Friday night against Arizona right-hander Zack Davies, both poked low dunks into opposite field to extend the inning.
Conforto again came up in the fifth, hauling Davis’ curveball down the right line for goals scored by Jock Pederson and JD Davis. Rookie catcher Patrick Bailey delivered the crucial hit, drilling a sinker into the middle from reliever Joe Mantebelle over the wall at left center.
“That’s when you know you’re kind of closed off,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said of Conforto. “When you hit all the pitches and hit them line for line.”
Conforto hadn’t been locked in his previous six matches, going 0-for-17 dating his last match on June 17.
“When I take fastballs over the plate and hit them the other way, that’s definitely where I have to be,” Conforto said. “Pulling things off the pace, too. It felt good to contribute tonight and advance in those big moments.”
| Arizona | San Francisco | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dad | s | h | Bi | dad | s | h | Bi | ||||
| totals | 35 | 5 | 8 | 4 | totals | 35 | 8 | 12 | 8 | ||
| Perdomo SS | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Wade Jr | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| mart 2b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Pederson D | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Carroll LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Davis 3b | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Jim Walker 1b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Conforto RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Gurriel Jr. dh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Sabol Lf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| thomas cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | slater ph-lf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| longoria 3b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Billy J | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Moreno C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Crawford SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Smith F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Diaz 2b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| McCarthy RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | matos cf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arizona | 010 | 120 | 010 | – | 5 |
| San Francisco | 003 | 050 | 00x | – | 8 |
E_billy (3). DP_Arizona 1, San Francisco 1. LOB_Arizona 5, San Francisco 7. 2B_Perdomo (14), Carroll (20), Thomas (7), Conforto 2 (6), Sabol (7), Davis (12). HR_Longoria (10), Bailey (4). SB Carroll (23).
| 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Davies pitched to 3 batters in the fifth.
Judges: Home, Jim Wolfe; First up, Mike Mochlinsky; secondly, Sean Barber; Third, Alan Porter.
T: 2:25. A: 31992 (41915).
Bailey’s homer was his fourth overall and third by a left-handed pitcher. The 24-year-old catcher who has been heralding his defense is 12-for-29 against lefties.
“I’m still kind of surprised,” Bailey said of his trip home. “I can’t trust myself not to run outside the penalty area. We’re going to keep running hard so they keep coming.”
The offensive spark helped rookie Logan Webb, who struggled a bit against Arizona’s strong offense. The San Francisco ace tied his season high by allowing four runs, earning three. However, he pressed to throw seven innings, allowing a home run to former teammate Evan Longoria in the second inning. Cheering for Longoria, who took his first at-bat at Oracle Park since leaving in the offseason, turned into boos as the 37-year-old meandered around the bases.
“This is one of the best teams in baseball,” said Webb. “So, just trying to limit the damage. I know they don’t hit, they don’t stalk, they don’t swing and miss. They do all the right things. I’m glad the guys did eight home runs. They definitely had my back today.”
Webb’s Friday outing was his latest take on the season. Friday was the third straight start in which he pitched at least seven innings, and he’s done so in eight of his past 10 games.
“The roles Logan gave us were just as important to our overall staff and his stat line,” said Kapler. “He covered a lot of innings for us, and in large part, that’s why the bullpen is in such good shape today.”
While Webb did get an assist offensively, his defense didn’t make it any easier. A looping hit by Alec Thomas resulted in an errant throw by Bailey that first baseman Lamonte Wade Jr. could not handle, allowing Christian Walker to score on the fourth. Bailey added to the Giants’ league-high 58 errors.
But the Giants defense finished strong. With two outs in the ninth, Arizona shortstop Geraldo Perdomo looked like he had one down at the quarterback to extend the game against Giants closer Camilo Duvall. But, starting at his left, shortstop Brandon Crawford pigeonted just behind second base, came up with the batter and fired at Wade to secure the last out of the game.
“It’s just Brandon Crawford doing Brandon Crawford stuff,” Webb said. “He amazes me every time he gets out there and plays defense. He doesn’t even know how many times he’s a Gold Glover. But he’s so good there.”
The San Francisco offense did all the damage Friday night despite the absence of Mike Yastrzemski, who went on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.
The Giants moved to two and a half games behind Arizona to lead the NL West. Although Webb said he doesn’t like talking about his 107-win 2021 season, the last time the Giants won the championship, he couldn’t help but compare that year’s run to the Giants’ success in 2023.
“One of the things we did that year, I think better than anyone else, was just know you’re in the game, no matter what happens,” Webb said. “It can be in three innings, four innings, sometimes five innings, but we still know that somehow we’re going to scratch and claw our way back to a tie game where we put ourselves in a position to win.”
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