Ketel Marte launched a two-run home run in the eighth and the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks took advantage of a San Francisco Giants baserunning gaffe in the bottom of the inning to hold on for a 5-2 victory Sunday afternoon and avoid a three-game sweep.
Christian Walker and Jake McCarthy chipped in with early run-scoring hits for first-place Arizona, which completed a week-long, three-city trip with a 4-3 record.
The game’s key play occurred with the Diamondbacks up 4-2 and two on and two out in the Giants’ half of the eighth, when left-handed-hitting Patrick Bailey chopped one just inside the third-base bag for a hit.
Diamondbacks third baseman Evan Longoria made a diving stop on the outfield grass to prevent J.D. Davis from scoring. But presuming his Giants teammate had already taken off for the plate, Blake Sabol attempted to get from first to third.
Longoria got Sabol in a rundown and Marte applied the tag near second base for the threat-ending play.
Capitalizing on the momentum of the break, the Diamondbacks added an insurance run on Geraldo Perdomo’s RBI single in the ninth.
Arizona reliever Scott McGough, after surviving the eighth, stranded two more runners in the bottom of the inning for his sixth save.
Marte’s home run came two batters after McCarthy had led off the top of the eighth with a walk, turning a 2-1 game into a three-run advantage. It was Marte’s 14th homer of the season.
The blast produced Arizona’s first scoring since opening the game with single runs in the first and second. Marte scored the run in the first on Walker’s double, while Alek Thomas doubled and scored ahead of McCarthy’s single in the second.
Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson (4-4) allowed just three hits and one run in seven innings, walking two and striking out six. The lone run came in the sixth on a Davis single that scored Thairo Estrada.
After Marte’s homer, the Giants scored on Davis’ two-out, RBI single in the eighth. Sabol followed with a walk, setting up Longoria’s big play on Bailey’s infield hit.
Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani (4-7) was the hard-luck loser after limiting the Diamondbacks to just two runs and five hits in six innings. He struck out three and didn’t walk anyone.
Marte finished with two hits, two RBIs and two runs for Arizona, which out-hit the hosts 10-6. Thomas collected three of the 10 hits and Walker had two.
Davis had two hits and both RBIs for the Giants, who lost for just the second time in their last 14 games. Luis Matos also had a pair of hits, while Estrada scored both San Francisco runs.
–Field Level Media