San Francisco 5, Arizona 3
When: 4:10 PM ET, Sunday, September 11, 2016
Where: Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
Temperature:
Indoors
Umpires:
Home -
Gabe Morales, 1B -
Dan Iassogna, 2B -
Dale Scott, 3B -
Bob Davidson
Attendance:
26008
By The Sports Xchange
PHOENIX -- Matt Moore is starting to feel comfortable in his San Francisco surroundings, which could prove problematic for the Giants' National League West rivals.
Moore threw seven strong innings, striking out 11 while walking just one, and Denard Span homered to lead the Giants past the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 on Sunday afternoon.
"It's definitely normalized, said Moore, who was traded to the Giants from the Tampa Bay Rays on July 31. "I can't really say what it was before, but it felt different. Maybe it was looking down and seeing orange on my shoes or looking and seeing Buster (Posey)'s glove. But right now, in the middle of this race, it's exciting to wake up in the morning and know where we are."
Moore (3-4) came in off the shortest outing of his career, a 2 2/3-inning stint against the Rockies in Colorado in which he gave up six runs on five hits and four walks. Chase Field also is a renowned hitters' park, but Moore said he was able to stay more focused against the Diamondbacks.
"I think I was trying to control my emotions a little better," Moore said. "In Colorado, I went on tilt too much and stopped staying within myself. Today I was able to buckle down, focus up and continue to execute."
Moore's key moment came in the bottom of the sixth after the Giants took a 3-2 lead in the top of the inning. Facing the lower third of the Diamondbacks' order, which already had touched him for three hits and a walk in six plate appearances, Moore struck out the side on 11 pitches.
"He was really good and had good stuff," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He got ahead and really did a nice job today. The seven solid innings allowed us to use the bullpen the way we wanted."
Hunter Pence added a two-run double for the Giants, who completed a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks.
Hunter Strickland pitched the ninth for his third save and first since June 23 against the Yankees in New York.
San Francisco moved within three games of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and extended their lead to two games on the St. Louis Cardinals for the first NL wild-card spot. The Miami Marlins beat the Dodgers 3-0, and the Milwaukee Brewers downed the Cardinals 2-1 earlier Sunday.
Welington Castillo homered for the Diamondbacks, who have dropped six straight and seven of their past nine.
Zack Greinke (12-6) went six innings for Arizona, giving up three runs on six hits with three strikeouts and four walks. It was Greinke's second consecutive loss and marked the first time he lost consecutive starts since his first two outings of the season.
After allowing Span's home run on the second pitch of the game, Greinke largely held the Giants in check until his control failed him in the sixth with Arizona holding a 2-1 lead.
"He did a fine job. Then came the sixth, and he just became too fine," Arizona manager Chip Hale said.
Greinke walked Angel Pagan to lead off the inning. After retiring Posey on a fly ball to the wall in center, Greinke walked Brandon Crawford and Pence to load the bases. Brandon Belt followed with a single to short left, scoring Pagan to tie the game at 2-2.
Greinke induced a grounder to first from Joe Panik, but Crawford was able to scamper home to give the Giants a 3-2 lead. Greinke intentionally walked Eduardo Nunez and retired Moore on a fly to left to escape the inning.
"I was just missing with pitches a little bit over and over again," said the normally circumspect Greinke, who was visibly frustrated during the inning, throwing his head back as a pitch sailed wide. "I felt pretty good, not perfect. But in the sixth, I was just missing by a little bit on just about every pitch."
San Francisco made it 5-2 in the seventh when Pence's two-run double followed a walk to Pagan and a single by Crawford.
Castillo homered to left in the eighth off Sergio Romo to cut San Francisco's lead to 5-3.
NOTES: San Francisco OF Denard Span's leadoff home run was the fifth of his career. ... After finishing a 5-5 road trip Sunday, the Giants will play 13 of their final 20 contests at AT&T Park. ... San Francisco RF Hunter Pence on Saturday became the eighth player since 1900 to post consecutive games with at least three hits and four runs. Pence is the first player to accomplish the feat since New York Mets 3B David Wright in 2005. ... Diamondbacks LHP Andrew Chafin remains sidelined with tightness in his left shoulder. Chafin was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday but has yet to appear in a game.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
San Francisco |
|
Arizona |
Matt Moore
|
Player |
Zack Greinke
|
Win |
W/L |
Loss |
7.0 |
IP |
6.0 |
11 |
Strikeouts |
3 |
8 |
Hits |
6 |
2.57 |
ERA |
4.50 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
San Francisco
|
8 |
1 |
12 |
.242 |
14 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
Arizona
|
11 |
1 |
19 |
.297 |
14 |
15 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |