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 Joe Panik homered, Johnny Cueto won his fifth game and Javier
Lopez induced a game-ending groundout with the bases loaded in the
Giants' 4-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on
Thursday, their first victory over nemesis Greinke in 12 career
meetings.
"Finally broke through," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's been
tough on us. We had some good at-bats. Panik, that was huge to give
us a little cushion. It got a little scary at the end, but 'Lopey'
got the big out there."
Panik's two-run homer on a first-pitch fastball gave Cueto a 4-1
lead in the fifth inning, and Lopez got Jake Lamb to ground out in
the ninth inning to preserve the victory with his first save of the
season.
"Any time against (Greinke), you are looking for a certain area,"
Panik said. "I wasn't say I was guessing heater, it was more look
for something up in zone."
Greinke had been 8-0 with a 2.12 ERA against San Francisco, all the
victories since 2014.
 "He's a heck of a pitcher," Lopez said. "He's a heck of a
competitor. That's obviously why we made a big push for him in the
offseason. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em kind of thing. It's great
to get that, especially when you are starting a road trip."
The Giants (19-18) had eight hits off Greinke, the most they had
against him in one game, to help Cueto (5-1) win the first matchup
between the two big offseason free agent pitching signees.
Greinke (3-3) signed a six-year, $206.5 million contract this
winter, and Cueto signed a six-year deal worth $130 million. Each
organization negotiated with the other pitcher before the deals were
done.
Cueto gave up two runs and eight hits in seven innings to lower his
ERA to 2.97. He struck out nine and walked two.
"I let the batters take care of the pitcher," Cueto said when asked
about the matchup with Greinke.
Greinke gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings. He struck
out four and walked three. Greinke has a 7.28 in five starts at
Chase Field while giving up six homers.
"It was all right, not great," Greinke said of his outing. "They had
some really good at-bats. Took a lot of close pitches and were ready
to hit any time I made a mistake."
Buster Posey and Denard Span had two hits apiece for the Giants, who
had seven hits in 11 batters while scoring two runs in the fourth
inning and two in the fifth.
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"They did have some good swings against him, put together some good
at-bats," Arizona manager Chip Hale said. "He gave us six innings.
"Four runs in our ballpark, I think we should be able to counter
that."
Jean Segura had three hits and Brandon Drury had two for Arizona
(17-20), which lost its second in a row after a five-game winning
streak.
Three of the first four Diamondbacks batters singled off Cueto in
the first inning, and cleanup hitter Lamb drove in Segura for a 1-0
lead.
The Giants bunched four singles to take a 2-1 lead in the fourth
inning. Matt Duffy, Posey and Brandon Belt singled to open the
inning, with Belt driving in a run. Hunter Pence beat out a
potential double-play grounder to drive in Posey.
Span singled and Panik hit his fourth homer of the season to lead
off the fifth inning, making it 4-1 lead. Span had two singles off
Greinke and is 13-for-40 against Greinke in his career.
Chris Owings tripled in a run to make it 4-2 in the sixth.
NOTES: Arizona RF David Peralta (right wrist) missed his fifth
consecutive start. An MRI exam Thursday showed no structural damage
and there is "nothing to be concerned about," general manager Dave
Stewart said. ... The Giants added RHP Clayton Blackburn to the
roster Thursday, giving them 13 pitchers for the four-game series at
Arizona that began Thursday. The Giants optioned OF Jarrett Parker
to Sacramento to make room for Blackburn, an indication that OF
Angel Pagan (hamstring) is close to returning. Pagan has missed 10
straight games but did pregame work Thursday and is likely to start
Friday, manager Bruce Bochy said. ... Arizona general manager Dave
Stewart, on a possible pursuit of former Giants RHP Tim Lincecum:
"We don't have any plans at this point." The D-backs were among
numerous teams that attended Lincecum's throwing session in
Scottsdale last Friday. ... The street on the west side of Chase
Field was renamed "Randy Johnson Way" in a ceremony Thursday, and
Johnson threw out the first pitch. ... RHP Zack Greinke doubled in
the second inning, his 17th double in 309 career at-bats.
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