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Lowry pitched Giants past D-Backs

Jul 1, 2007 - 5:48 AM SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- When Noah Lowry gets three runs of support, it's game over for the opposition.

After a first-inning struggle, Lowry (8-6) pitched effectively into the seventh to improve to 31-12 when he gets three runs as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-1, on Saturday night.

"I think that the confidence is always there," Lowry said. "I try to approach every hitter, every inning, and every situation as if its a 0-0 ballgame and that just alleviates any kind of outside pressure that there might be."

Barry Bonds, within five home runs of matching Hank Aaron's all-time record, did not go deep but finished the night 1-for-1 with three walks and two runs before being removed for pinch runner Fred Lewis in the seventh inning.

"He's hitting well, he's been swinging the bat well here lately, but its going to take production throughout the order," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

Lowry allowed a run on five hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.

"Repetition has a lot to do with the pitcher that you become throughout the year," Lowry said. "Consistency is always something to shoot for and I'm still trying to find that. Maybe its just trying to get back to that timing and that rhythm. I think I'm a lot better at it now than I was let's say a year ago in spring training."

The Diamondbacks made Lowry work in the first inning.

After Eric Byrnes struck out, Lowry had trouble finding the strike zone perhaps due to the twi-light start. Chris Young walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch that Lowry threw to the backstop on the fly. Orlando Hudson singled up the middle to score Young with the first run of the game.

Over the next four frames, Arizona managed just three baserunners and the closest threat the Diamondbacks mounted was a 400-foot line-drive double to deep left-center by Young in the fifth. But Lowry retired Orlando Hudson to escape.

"It was amazing the job he did today, it was outstanding," Giants catcher Bengie Molina said. "He regrouped himself and started throwing strikes and he did amazing today but not only him.

"We've been pitching great. We had a stretch there where our first inning wasn't very good but other than that our pitching has been our number one thing this year."

Lowry departed with a runner on second and two outs in the seventh, and Vinnie Chulk loaded the bases on a pair of walks and fell behind Conor Jackson, 3-1, before getting him to ground out to shortstop.

Kevin Correia and Jake Taschner split the eighth before closer Brad Hennesey logged the ninth for his fourth save.

While Lowry labored through 28 pitches in the frame, Arizona's Doug Davis needed 34 to escape the first inning as the Giants took a 2-1 lead. With two outs, Ray Durham doubled down the left field line, Bonds walked on four consecutive pitches and Molina smashed a double to left, plating both.

"We're not scoring a lot of runs right now and anytime you score runs, no matter what the situation is we've got to take it and make a positive out of it," Molina said.

"Bengie getting the big hit and Frandsen got a big hit with two outs, that's always huge," Bochy said. "We had to make a last minute scratch and Franny had a nice game coming through with the big hit there."

Frandsen was a last minute replacement for Ryan Klesko who was scratched with a slight abdominal strain.

The Giants got some breathing room in the fifth. Durham hit a two-out single to left and Bonds followed with a high-arching fly ball that off the bat sounded like he had hit home run No. 751, but the ball bounced off the brick wall in right-center near the 365-foot marker and Bonds had himself an RBI double. Molina singled advancing Bonds to third and a single by Kevin Frandsen increased the lead to 4-1.

"Last year (Davis) pitched well against us when he was with Milwaukee," Frandsen said. "Just to be able to get to him and get him on the ropes and obviously having Barry in the lineup helps a little bit because he pitches around him and it wasn't after a walk it was a double but two hits the next thing you know, we're scoring some runs."

Davis was finally lifted in favor of Dustin Nippert after issuing his sixth base on balls with two outs in the sixth inning. He was charged with four runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

"I felt like I couldn't get that last out in the first or the fifth inning," Davis said. "Every time I'd get a quick two outs I would fall behind, give up a hit or walk a guy. I can't explain it, I feel like I'm doing the same thing but I didn't have my best stuff at all.