Diamondbacks go cold with runners in scoring position in loss to Giants

It wasn’t a lack of baserunners that hindered the Arizona Diamondbacks in Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants, but rather a lack of timely hitting.

Despite compiling eight hits, Arizona went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded in both the fifth and sixth innings.

“Offensively, we just didn’t capitalize in innings two through nine with some opportunities that were left out there,” manager Torey Lovullo told media on a Zoom call after the game.

“We got ourselves into some good hitting counts, but then in the most crucial part of the at-bat, we might have went out of the zone a little bit to attack the baseball. We had a chance to really blow that game open, there’s no doubt about that.”

However, Diamondbacks starting pitcher Alex Young had a solid outing.

The lefty allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out three on 81 pitches (55 strikes) over 5.1 innings of work.

The D-backs jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning thanks to a leadoff home run from Tim Locastro on the third pitch of the game.

1st homer of the season for @TimmyLo16! pic.twitter.com/UdQKWxxjyG

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 6, 2020

Josh Rojas would follow that up with an RBI sac-fly to make it 2-0 Arizona in the opening frame.

And after San Francisco’s Chadwick Tromp hit a solo shot in the bottom of the third, both teams would trade goose eggs until the sixth inning.

That was largely in part to the defense that was being displayed across the diamond, as the two sides combined for three double plays on Sunday to get out of multiple jams.

“I thought A.Y. (Alex Young) was in and out of some trouble, he’s making pitches — something that he does very well,” Lovullo said. “He doesn’t let things compound and he picked us up a few times with some big double plays or some big pitches to get out of some innings.”

The Giants would make the D-backs pay for not taking advantage of loading the bases in the fifth and sixth innings.

Donovan Solano hit a two-run home run in the bottom half of the sixth frame to give San Francisco a 3-2 lead on what would be Young’s last pitch of the ballgame.

The Giants would then extend their lead on a Brandon Belt solo shot over off Yoan Lopez in the bottom of the seventh to bring the game to its final scoreline of 4-2 in San Francisco’s favor.

UP NEXT

The D-backs wrap up the four-game set with the Giants in the series finale on Monday with first pitch scheduled for 5:05 p.m.

Catch all the action on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

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