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Diamondbacks-Giants Preview

Aug 26, 2009 - 6:50 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Arizona (55-71) at San Francisco (68-58), 10:15 p.m. EDT

Although the San Francisco Giants' moral was a bit shaken following a demoralizing weekend series against the team they're chasing in the wild-card race, they weren't going to let it keep them down.

The Giants look to build some momentum from a comeback victory and take the first two games in their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.

After blowing leads and losing the final three contests of an important four-game series against Colorado, San Francisco (68-58) bounced back with a 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks on Tuesday to remain four games behind the wild card-leading Rockies.

The Giants, who open a three-game home series against Colorado this weekend, were coming off an especially disappointing 14-inning loss at Colorado on Monday in which Ryan Spilborghs hit a game-ending grand slam.

"We can't dwell on the last road trip, the last series," Travis Ishikawa said. "Everyone came in and did a good job putting that behind us."

Ishikawa came up big Tuesday, scoring on a wild pitch in the seventh inning to tie the score at 2. The Giants first baseman, who had one extra-base hit in his previous 70 at-bats before doubling in the seventh, hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth to give San Francisco a 5-2 lead.

It ended up being just enough. Arizona's Ryan Roberts hit a two-run single in the top of the ninth to pull the Diamondbacks within one before Sergio Romo relieved closer Brian Wilson to record the final out.

"It's huge for our team. It picks us back up," Romo said. "It's going to lift our spirits big time."

The Giants improved to 7-3 against the Diamondbacks (55-71) this season and handed Arizona its eighth loss in nine games.

"We didn't quit and we made it interesting off their closer," manager A.J. Hinch said. "We just couldn't come through at the very end."

Ishikawa's sudden power surge helped San Francisco get by with slugger Pablo Sandoval out of the starting lineup with a bruised right calf.

Sandoval, who leads the Giants in batting average (.331), home runs (19) and RBIs (73), entered in the seventh inning Tuesday as a pinch hitter. Manager Bruce Bochy is expected to keep him out of the starting lineup again Wednesday.

Bochy will now give the ball to Jonathan Sanchez (6-10, 4.30 ERA), who has emerged as an important member of the rotation.

After being demoted to the bullpen at the end of June, Sanchez is 4-2 with a 2.90 ERA since returning to the rotation. The left-hander allowed an unearned run, two hits and four walks with eight strikeouts in five innings of a 6-3 win over Colorado on Friday - the fourth time in five starts he yielded two runs or fewer.

Sanchez has enjoyed pitching against the Diamondbacks this season, going 1-1 with a 0.73 ERA in two starts.

The Diamondbacks counter with Doug Davis (7-11, 3.77), who tries to bounce back from his first loss in a month.

Davis was tagged for six runs, five hits and four walks in five innings of a 12-3 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday. The veteran left-hander was 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in his previous five outings.

It could be tough for Davis to get back in the win column against a Giants team he has struggled against lately. After throwing eight innings in a 2-0 win at San Francisco on April 18, Davis has recorded an 8.10 ERA in losing his last two starts against the Giants.