D-backs rally to beat Giants behind Dominic Fletcher’s 4-RBI night

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks came back from a three-run deficit in the second inning to beat the National League West division rival San Francisco Giants 7-5 on Friday night in front of 19,266 fans at Chase Field.

The win also snaps a three-game losing streak for the D-backs, who remain tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates atop the NL Wild Card standings.

Arizona’s surge back into the ballgame came off the bat of rookie outfielder Dominic Fletcher — a member of Italy’s World Baseball Classic squad — who went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and was a triple away from the cycle.

His three-run blast in the bottom of the second tied the game for the Diamondbacks and marked the first home run of his big league career.

pic.twitter.com/4kTDNGgVAF https://t.co/VmyZh9gHvZ

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) May 13, 2023

“Obviously in the second inning there was a huge walk by (Nick) Ahmed and kind of set up that inning after a base hit,” D-backs bench coach and acting manager Jeff Banister told reporters postgame while skipper Torey Lovullo was attending his son Connor’s graduation from Northern Arizona University.

“Young kid Fletcher (came) up big for a home run there. Had a big night obviously with the four RBIs, swung the bat well.”

Fletcher also drove home Ahmed with an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Diamondbacks a 5-4 lead.

pic.twitter.com/xnF7FXvHgL

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) May 13, 2023

“Just looking for something over the middle and he hung a slider a little bit and I caught it out front,” Fletcher said postgame of his home run that landed in the pool area.

“… Some of the guys at the pool out there threw it back and I gave a bat to someone to try to get to them. … Someone said it landed in guacamole, so we’ll have to see what it looks like.”

Fletcher has hit the ground running since getting called up on April 30.

The 25-year-old is slashing .457/.486/.629 for a 1.115 OPS on 16 hits, four extra-base hits, one home run and two walks to go along with eight RBI and four runs scored in 35 at-bats across 11 games.

“He’s been able to put together some terrific at-bats, very calm in the batter’s box, has a really good plan in my opinion,” Banister said of Fletcher. “He doesn’t really get too overwhelmed with the situation, typically on time for pitches. I think sometimes when you’re facing pitchers for the first time, you see young hitters — it can get a little sideways for them, but he doesn’t seem to have that in him.

“He has the ability to hit both left-handers and right-handers and he looks very hitterish in the box — that old adage — and he does. He puts together quality at-bats for us pretty much every night he’s in there. … We don’t see anything that seems to overwhelm him and when there’s a tough at-bat, he comes back the next at-bat and seems to put together a quality at-bat.”

Fletcher credits his older brother David — an outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels — for his success on his journey to make his Major League debut and how to perceiver through all the ups and downs that come with being a professional baseball player.

“Having him as a tool has really helped me throughout my career,” the Diamondbacks rookie outfielder said. “Whenever I need something, he’s there.

“We talk all the time, almost every day and just having him there for me and him going through every level before I did and having experienced everything before I did really was a big help for me.”

UP NEXT

The D-backs look to take the lead in the four-game series against the Giants on Saturday at 5:10 p.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7, the Arizona Sports app and ArizonaSports.com.

Arizona ace Zac Gallen (5-1 2.36 ERA) is scheduled to start against San Francisco righty Anthony DeSclafani (3-2, 2.80 ERA).

Follow @jwa1994