Final
NL West supremacy on the line in Arizona
Jun 14, 2011 - 3:13 PMVideo
The defending World Series champion Giants are only a half-game ahead of Arizona for NL West bragging rights and are coming off a split of a four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds at AT&T Park. The Giants were off Monday and recorded a 4-2 win Sunday night to earn a split of the series, as Aubrey Huff led the charge with three hits and two runs batted in.
Nate Schierholtz and Cody Ross were each credited with an RBI, while starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez pitched well in the no-decision. The lefty allowed two runs and five hits in six innings before Ramon Ramirez struck out two batters in a scoreless seventh for the win. Brian Wilson late came on to register his 18th save of the season.
"As bad as we've done offensively, it's a testament to our pitching," Huff said on the team's site. "My God, if we could hit a lick, we'd probably be 10 games over the D-backs right now."
Huff's wish may be answered when the club activates third baseman Pablo Sandoval off of the disabled list because of right hand surgery. Sandoval has been out since April 29 and is batting .313 with five homers and 14 RBI. He will return to an ailing club that is already without second baseman Freddy Sanchez (shoulder) and reigning NL Rookie of the Year Buster Posey (ankle).
"Last year, when we really took off, we got a spark with Posey coming up and [Andres] Torres earning a spot," Huff said. "Having Pablo back, with the way he was swinging before he got hurt, we definitely need the help."
The Giants have won eight of their last 12 games and went 6-4 on a 10-game homestand. They will also visit Oakland for three games on this six-game trek and are slated to send Matt Cain to the mound tonight in the desert. Cain has won back-to-back starts since losing two in a row and defeated Washington the last time out on Wednesday in a 3-1 win by the Bay.
Cain posted his first complete games of the season against the Nationals and yielded just one run and five hits with 11 strikeouts. The right-hander is now 5-4 with a 3.36 ERA in 13 starts and will try to even his road mark tonight. Cain is 2-3 in seven starts as the guest and defeated Arizona back on May 12 with 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball in a 3-2 victory. In 19 career starts against the D'Backs, Cain is 8-4 with a 3.14 ERA.
Arizona is creeping up on the Giants thanks to a 15-2 ledger from May 14-30 this season. It won the last three meetings of a fur-game series at Florida and went 4-3 on a seven-game road trip with Monday's 12-9 triumph over the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium.
Miguel Montero led the offense with three hits, four RBI and a pair of runs scored, Juan Miranda drove in three runs and Justin Upton ended 3-for-6 with two RBI for Arizona, which got a two-run homer from starting pitcher Zach Duke. Duke was roughed up on the hill for the no-decision, allowing seven runs and 13 hits in 4 2/3 frames.
"It was a good way to finish [the series]. It's nice to see us swing the bats," Upton said.
Micah Owings recorded the win with 2 1/3 shutout innings of relief and J.J. Putz later nailed down the 18th save of the season with a scoreless ninth.
The Diamondbacks are also slated to entertain the Chicago White Sox for three games on the homestand and will hand the ball to rookie Josh Collmenter Tuesday night. Collmenter is 4-1 with a solid 1.12 ERA in 13 games (6 starts) this season and hasn't given up a run in each of his last two outings. He fired seven shutout innings for a win over Washington on June 3, then delivered five scoreless frames in a 2-0 victory at Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Collmenter, a right-hander, defeated San Francisco in his major league debut in a 6-5 win on April 17 at Chase Field, hurling two scoreless innings of relief with two K's. In six home games, two of which have been starts, Collmenter is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA, spanning 20 1/3 innings.
San Francisco has won five of six matchups with Arizona this season and swept a three-game series at AT&T Park from May 10-12. The Giants are 18-4 in the past 22 meetings with the D'Backs.
- SAN FRANCISCO: 6
ARIZONA: 5
Final
Jun 15 12:55 AM - Justin Upton doubled to left scored Sean Burroughs with two out. Runner on second and Stephen Drew due up.
Giants 6, Diamondbacks 5 Bot 7, 2 OutsJun 15 12:02 AM - Nate Schierholtz doubled to center scored Aubrey Huff with one out, On the play, Nate Schierholtz advances to third on Chris Young's fielding error. Runner on third and Cody Ross due up.
Giants 6, Diamondbacks 4 Top 7, 1 OutJun 14 11:51 PM - Miguel Montero one-out, three-run Home Run (8) to right scored Stephen Drew and Chris Young. Xavier Nady due up.
Giants 5, Diamondbacks 4 Bot 6, 1 OutJun 14 11:41 PM - Ryan Roberts sacrifice fly out to left scored Xavier Nady with one out. Runner on first and Kelly Johnson due up.
Giants 5, Diamondbacks 1 Bot 5, 2 OutsJun 14 11:21 PM - Cody Ross scores with two out. Brandon Crawford caught stealing second from catcher to second to first to short to end the inning.
Giants 5, Diamondbacks 0 Mid 5Jun 14 11:11 PM - Cody Ross doubled to left scored Pablo Sandoval and Aubrey Huff with two out. Runner on second and Brandon Crawford due up.
Giants 4, Diamondbacks 0 Top 5, 2 OutsJun 14 11:04 PM - Matt Cain sacrifice bunt to pitcher scored Cody Ross with two out. On the play, Brandon Crawford advances to second. Runner on second with two outs and Andres Torres due up.
Giants 2, Diamondbacks 0 Top 4, 2 OutsJun 14 10:37 PM - Aubrey Huff reached on a fielder's choice, first to short. Pablo Sandoval out at second. Emmanuel Burriss advances to third. Runners on first and third with one out and Nate Schierholtz due up.
Giants 1, Diamondbacks 0 Top 1, 1 OutJun 14 9:48 PM - SAN FRANCISCO: 0
ARIZONA: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Jun 14 9:40 PM
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