Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-out, two-strike grand slam into the San Francisco Bay in the eighth inning Tuesday night, completing a Giants rally that resulted in a 9-8 victory and the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 21st consecutive road defeat.
Yastrzemski’s first career slam gave the Giants their first lead on a night that began with the Diamondbacks, attempting to end their road skid as well as an 11-game losing streak overall, taking a 7-0 lead in their first two at-bats.
The 21st straight road loss moved Arizona within one of the all-time major league record set by the Philadelphia Athletics in 1943 and tied by the New York Mets in 1963.
The Giants clawed back, scoring three times in the second and twice in the sixth to get within 8-5 entering the eighth.
Brandon Belt led off the eighth with his third hit of the game, a double, after which Donovan Solano reached on an infield single.
Two outs later, reliever Humberto Castellanos (0-1) entered and walked pinch hitter Curt Casali to load the bases. Yastrzemski then blasted his moon shot over the right field foul pole, giving the Giants a one-run lead.
The homer was Yastrzemski’s seventh of the season.
Tyler Rogers closed out the Giants’ second straight win to open the four-game series with a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save.
The Diamondbacks turned four hits, including a two-RBI single by David Peralta, into a four-run first inning and four more hits, including a two-RBI double by Chris Walker, into a three-run second to go up 7-0.
Josh Rojas and Ketel Marte each singled and scored in both innings.
San Francisco got on the board in the bottom of the second on a Solano RBI groundout, and Steven Duggar followed with his fifth of the season, a two-run shot.
Right-hander Jimmy Sherfy (1-0), the fifth Giants pitcher, was credited with the win after pitching a scoreless eighth.
Belt scored three times for the Giants, while Yastrzemski and Solano recorded two hits apiece.
Rojas collected three hits for the Diamondbacks, while Walker drove in three runs. Walker and Peralta joined teammate Marte with two hits each.
–Field Level Media