Giants 8 - 5 Diamondbacks
Final
  for this game

Pagan, Giants rally to beat D-Backs

Apr 4, 2014 - 3:36 AM Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Angel Pagan hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run eighth inning rally that lifted the San Francisco Giants to an 8-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Brandon Belt and Brandon Hicks belted solo homers for the Giants, who won three of the four games in their first series of the season.

The Diamondbacks, who began the season against the Dodgers in Australia, fell to 1-5 -- their worst six-game start in 11 years.

Paul Goldschmidt, who tied Pittsburgh's Pedro Alvarez for the NL lead with 36 homers last season, hit his first of the season for Arizona and Mark Trumbo also homered.

Aaron Hill hit an RBI double in the seventh inning to give the Diamondbacks a 5-3 lead. He had three hits and scored two runs in the game. The hit came off Jean Machi (2-0), who ended up getting the win in just one-third of an inning.

Hunter Pence started the eighth-inning rally with a one-out walk off Will Harris (0-1) and came around to score on Hector Sanchez's double. Pinch-hitter Buster Posey was then intentionally walked and Michael Morse followed with a pinch-hit single to tie the game.

Pagan's homer on a 92 mph first-pitch fastball landed in the swimming pool area of Chase Field behind right-center field.

"He's very aggressive and he smoked it," said Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson.

Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum struck out seven in his first start since signing a two-year, $35 million deal in the offseason. The two-time Cy Young Award winner gave up four runs on eight hits in six innings.

Lincecum was helped off the field last Friday after taking a liner off his leg in an exhibition game against Oakland, and suffered through a bout of illness earlier this week.

"Considering everything that's happened to him this week," said San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy, "I thought it was a really nice effort."

Bronson Arroyo went 4 1/3 innings in his Diamondbacks debut after signing a two-year, $23.5 million deal in February. The durable right-hander, who spent the past eight seasons with Cincinnati, gave up two runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Trumbo's second home run of the season sailed over the wall in right-center field in the sixth inning and also scored Hill for a 4-2 Diamondbacks lead.

Hicks knocked a cut fastball into the second deck beyond left field with one out in the seventh to get the Giants within a run, but Hill's double to the left field wall plated Gerardo Parra to give Arizona a 5-3 lead.

The game was delayed briefly in the top of the first inning because of a large swarm of bees in center field. Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock ran right into the swarm to catch Pagan's leadoff fly ball to the warning track.

The Beatles song "Let It Be" played over the public address during the delay and Belt followed two batters later with a blast inside the right field pole, his third homer of the season already.

Goldschmidt gave Arizona a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer to right-center that also scored Hill, who had singled. The Giants tied it in the fourth after Pablo Sandoval led off with a double, went to third on Pence's single and scored on Sanchez's sacrifice fly to the track in center.

Game Notes

The Diamondbacks also went 1-5 to start the 2003 season ... Posey had an off day after catching the first three games ... Goldschmidt tried to turn a single into a double in the third but was thrown out at second base by Pence from left field to end the inning ... Trumbo has eight RBI ... The Giants remain on the road for a three-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers starting on Friday. They will meet the Diamondbacks again next week in a three-game series in San Francisco ... Arizona goes on the road to play a three-game series at Colorado starting Friday.






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