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 Arizona manager Chip Hale called it "a no-brainer" to intentionally
walk San Francisco Giants pinch hitter Buster Posey with runners on
first and third, two outs in the seventh inning, and the
Diamondbacks holding a one-run lead.
The strategy paid off when Randall Delgado got Angel Pagan to pop
out to end the inning, and the Diamondbacks went on to post a 2-1
victory over the Giants at Chase Field on Wednesday.
"He has been very, very good against us, very, very good against us
in this stadium," Hale said of Posey. "We'll take our chances with
Angel.
"It's just like Goldy (Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt).
When Goldy comes up, you see guys walk him. Posey's one of the best
in baseball, and in this stadium, he's been lights out. In that
situation, picking the lesser of two evils."
Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia's two-run home run in the fourth
inning gave right-hander Zack Godley all the support he needed, and
five relievers finished it off for Arizona.
The Giants scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to get within
a run at 2-1 before right fielder Marlon Byrd opened the seventh
with a double off Delgado. Byrd took third on a groundout before
catcher Jackson Williams walked, bringing up Posey, who did not
start because of a stiff left ankle.
Hale went to the mound to tell Delgado to walk Posey, who was
hitting .513 during a 10-game hitting streak that brought his
batting average to .329. Posey is a career .349 hitter at Chase
Field and has hit .419 in Phoenix this season.
"He's a proven hitter, also," Hale said of the switch-hitting Pagan.
"From the left side, he's having his troubles compared to his
right-handed swing. I felt comfortable with walking Posey, and
knowing if something didn't go right, at least he was out of the
game and we wouldn't have to face him again."
Arizona manager Buck Showalter ordered Bonds to be intentionally
walked with the bases loaded to force in a run in the ninth inning
of a game at San Francisco on May 28, 1998, but reliever Gregg Olson
got the next man for an 8-7 victory.
Saltalamacchia homered off right-hander Chris Heston (11-10) with
one out in the fourth inning, his second homer in as many games,
after left fielder David Peralta doubled.
Saltalamacchia was a late addition to the lineup after starter
Welington Castillo was scratched because of a sore wrist.
Godley (5-1) gave up three singles, struck out five and walked one
and lasted five innings in what the Diamondbacks said will be his
final start of the season. Godley, who began the season at Class A
Visalia, appeared in seven major league games this season, five
starts, since making his major league debut July 23.
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Right-hander Brad Ziegler stranded runners on first and second in
the eighth inning and pitched a perfect ninth for a five-out save,
his 25th save of the season and 23rd straight.
Outfielder Ender Inciarte had three hits for Arizona (67-73), which
won its first series in five by taking two of three from the Giants.
Byrd had two of the Giants' five hits.
San Francisco (72-68) lost for the ninth time in 12 games. The
second-place Giants, who won only one of their past seven series,
fell 8 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National
League West and nine games out of a wild-card position.
"We had a pretty good opportunity (in the seventh), but we just
couldn't get a hit," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "The
one run that we got was on a wild pitch, and that is not going to
work."
The Giants scored after Godley hit pinch hitter Alejandro De Aza to
open the sixth inning and was replaced by left-hander Andrew Chafin.
Pagan walked, and the runners moved up on a groundout before Pagan
scored on Chafin's wild pitch.
Heston gave up two runs in 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and
two walks. Heston beat Arizona at Chase Field on April 8 in his
first major league start.
NOTES: San Francisco SS Brandon Crawford did not play after
undergoing MRIs on his left calf and left oblique Wednesday.
Crawford was removed from Tuesday's game in the fourth inning with
tightness in the calf and oblique. ... Arizona RF Socrates Brito
made his first major league start and went 1-for-3. Brito hit .300
and led the Double-A Southern League with 15 triples at Mobile. ...
Giants OF Hunter Pence, who has missed the past 22 games with a
strained oblique, has not progressed enough so that he can take full
swings, but manager Bruce Bochy said he believes Pence will play
again this season.
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reserved.]
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