Giants 5 - 3 Diamondbacks
Final
  for this game

Giants get by Diamondbacks for fourth straight win

Apr 17, 2011 - 3:50 AM

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Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Freddy Sanchez had two hits and knocked in three runs to help the San Francisco Giants get their fourth straight win with a 5-3 victory over Arizona.

Buster Posey belted a two-run homer while Aaron Rowand went 3-for-4 for the Giants, who overcame hitting into double plays in five straight innings.

Giants starting pitcher Barry Zito left in the second inning with a right mid- foot sprain. He went to field a Joe Saunders bunt and appeared to have landed oddly and rolled his ankle. He went just 1 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits.

Guillermo Mota (1-0) relieved Zito and went 4 1/3 innings, surrendering just one run on three hits while striking out four.

Miguel Montero plated two runs for the Diamondbacks, who have lost three straight and dropped the first two games of this three-game set against the defending World Series champs.

Saunders (0-2) was roughed up for 12 hits and five runs in 6 2/3 innings.

With the game knotted at three, the Giants got a two-out rally in the seventh, which was capped off by Sanchez. Mark DeRosa and Brandon Belt started the late rally with singles and Rowand walked to load the bases. Sanchez then came up and hit a grounder through the third-base side to plate both DeRosa and Belt to make up the 5-3 game

"We had two outs, they got a walk, they got three hits, so we didn't match their bullpen," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "They got 7 1/3 innings from the pen. The way I had my lineup set up, all the righties in there, and Zito goes out, and their bullpen responded as good as you can ask."

The Giants held on from there thanks to set-up man Sergio Romo coming in the eighth to get two outs and closer Brian Wilson, who recorded his fourth save of the season in a 1-2-3 ninth.

"The bullpen won the game for us, sure we had some big hits there, Freddie Sanchez was struggling there, he got a big double, but the bullpen did it." said Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

Posey blasted a homer over the left-center fence to score Rowand during the Giants' first at-bat to take a 2-0 lead.

But the Diamondbacks posted a two-spot in the second to knot the game. Chris Young got a one-out double and Xavier Nady drew a walk to set up Montero's two-run double that skirted into the right corner.

The home team took the lead on Melvin Mora's RBI double to right, but it only lasted one inning as Sanchez ripped a double down the left field line to score Rowand to tie the game.

Game Notes

Bochy celebrated his 56th birthday on Saturday...San Francisco won 13 of its 18 matchups with the D'Backs last season and is 27-10 in the series since the start of the 2009 campaign...The Diamondbacks, who had just six hits, went 2-for-4 with runners in scoring position...Zito will have an MRI on Sunday on his foot.






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