Crawford's single give Giants four-game sweep of Diamondbacks

[May 16, 2016]  PHOENIX -- The San Francisco Giants got the four-game sweep payback they owed the Arizona Diamondbacks, although it took a few minutes longer than usual before the result was official.

Giants infielder Brandon Crawford (35) dives for a ball in the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Crawford singled home the winning run in the ninth inning on the third of three consecutive singles and the Giants completed the four-game road sweep of the Diamondbacks with a 2-1 win on Sunday.

The Diamondbacks initially appeared to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth when pinch-hitter Rickie Weeks Jr. was ruled safe at first on what would have been a game-ending double play, allowing Brandon Drury to score from third.

But the ruling on the field that first baseman Brandon Belt had failed to keep his foot on the base was overturned by video review, allowing the Giants to commence their celebration and exact revenge for Arizona's four-game sweep in San Francisco from April 18-21.

"It was an easy call and we were confident we would win (the challenge)," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "Belt has a great feel around the base for plays like that. But there was a lot of drama, waiting to see what the call was gonna be.

"I guess it makes replay exciting. It's a great feeling if it goes in your favor. I've had one where it went the other way."

The Giants (22-18) had just one hit over the first eight innings but jumped on Arizona closer Brad Ziegler (1-2) with three straight first-pitch singles to open the ninth. Hunter Pence singled to center on a ball that deflected off Ziegler's hand and Belt singled to right to move Pence to second.

Crawford followed with a single to right to score Pence, giving San Francisco just enough offense to extend its winning streak to a season-high five games.

Matt Cain scattered seven hits over seven innings, and although he didn't get his first win of the season, he has been strong in the last two starts.

"The stuff I have been working on in the bullpen is starting to translate into the game," said Cain, who saw his ERA drop from 6.69 to 5.87. "Sometimes you have to grind out innings and fight your way through them. This is two good starts and hopefully you keep rolling from there."

Drury had four hits for Arizona and gave the Diamondbacks a chance to tie with a one-out single in the ninth off Giants closer Santiago Casilla that sent pinch runner Nick Ahmed to third. But Casilla got Weeks to hit into Arizona's fourth double play of the game to complete the sweep.

"It was the last thing we wanted to happen when they swept us, so it's good to come in here and get four," Bochy said. "This game is hard to figure. The guys played well, we had some timely hitting, great pitching ... we played well the whole series."

Arizona (17-23) has lost five in a row overall and nine in a row at Chase Field, where it is a major league-worst 5-16. Sunday's result ruined a strong pitching performance from Rubby De La Rosa, who allowed one hit in 6 2/3 innings and extended his personal scoreless streak against the Giants to 18 2/3 innings.

The Diamondbacks produced six runs in the four-game series. Manager Chip Hale made several changes in the lineup -- shifting the slumping Paul Goldschmidt to the clean-up spot, Chris Owings to shortstop and Chris Herrmann to center field -- but Arizona left eight runners on base and three of them on third base.

"We just have to do a better job of at-bats with men on third base," Hale said. "We continue to shoot ourselves in the foot. We put ourselves in a spot to come back and tie it with a manageable one run. It is very difficult to score runs. I think it is more difficult than people think when a runner is on third. We are not doing a very god job offensively that way."

The only hit De La Rosa allowed was a solo homer to left-center by catcher Trevor Brown in the third. Brown's fourth home run of the season came in his 43rd at-bat.

De La Rosa experienced hamstring soreness in the seventh and was lifted after consecutive two-out walks to Angel Pagan and Conor Gillaspie. But reliever Tyler Clippard struck out Brown looking to end the threat.

"I did great. My command was good and all my pitches were working down," De La Rosa said. "I tried to do my job and put zeros on the board. Today there was one mistake, a pitch to the catcher, but I tried to not let them do too much damage."

"That was a game where, with the groin feeling good, he probably doesn't walk a couple of guys he did," Hale said. "That is one (game) maybe he could complete. He had good stuff today."

Arizona tied the game in the fourth when Jake Lamb doubled with one out, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Goldschmidt. The Diamondbacks had several other threats, but Cain and the Giants used the double plays to keep the Diamondbacks off the board.

NOTES: Giants 3B Matt Duffy was held out of the lineup Sunday due to hamstring tightness. Conor Gillaspie started in place of Duffy. ... The Diamondbacks placed OF David Peralta on the 15-day disabled list due to right wrist inflammation. Peralta has missed the last six games with the injury and the assignment to the DL is retroactive to May 8. Peralta was hitting .280 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 33 games. ... To replace Peralta on the roster, Arizona called up veteran OF Michael Bourn from Double-A Mobile. Bourn, 33, was signed to a minor league contract on May 12 and hit .318 in five games with Mobile. ... To make room for Bourn on the 40-man roster, Arizona designated RHP Cody Hall for assignment. Hall has a 7.98 ERA in 12 games for the Triple-A Reno Aces. ... Giants INF Brandon Belt has reached base via hit, walk or hit by pitch in 22 consecutive games, two shy of a career high. ... To shake up the sputtering offense, Arizona manager Chip Hale moved slumping Paul Goldschmidt (.226) to the cleanup spot and placed C/OF Chris Herrmann in center field for the first time in his career. Chris Owings was moved to shortstop in place of the slumping Nick Ahmed (.175). ... Giants RHP George Kantos (elbow), on the disabled list since April 19, is with the team and expected to be activated Tuesday when the Giants open a series in San Diego against the Padres.

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