Sedona Red Recap: D-backs’ home struggles continue in loss to Giants

Perhaps it’s time for the Arizona Diamondbacks to do something different, drastic even, when it comes to playing games at Chase Field.

Wear their road uniforms, change the pregame batting practice routine — hey, can they switch dugouts?

The D-backs dropped their sixth straight home game and fourth overall, losing 5-3 to the San Francisco Giants on what was Star Wars Night at Chase Field on Saturday.

The 32,448 in attendance saw the D-backs rally from a two-run deficit and tie the game at 3 only to then watch the Giants strike for a pair of runs in the ninth inning.

Buster Posey hit a two-out, two-run double off Daniel Hudson to send the Giants to their fourth straight win and third in a row against the D-backs, who are now just 5-15 at Chase Field.

Posey ripped a 1-1 offering from Hudson (1-1) into the gap in right-center, the ball bouncing into the pool area for a ground-rule double.

It was Hudson’s first hit allowed to a right-handed batter all season and ended a personal 10-game scoreless streak.

Posey finished with two hits while Denard Spain had four and two runs scored.

Hunter Pence homered—the 200th of his career—and Joe Panik added an RBI single.

Pence and Panik did their damage against starter Patrick Corbin, who went 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

Hunter Strickland (1-0) picked up the win, while Cory Gearrin earned the save, the second of his career.

Starter Jake Peavy exited the game leading 3-1, but the D-backs scored a run in the seventh and another in the eighth on a Jean Segura RBI fielder’s choice and then a Phil Gosselin sacrifice fly, respectively.

Chris Owings plated the team’s first run with a second-inning double, the only run Peavy allowed in six innings of work.

Peavy, who recorded his second quality start of the season, held the D-backs to three hits, while walking two and striking out five.

The D-backs’ four-game losing streak is their second-longest of the season.

THE GOOD

It is now a seven-game hitting streak for Owings, who doubled in his first at-bat. Behind in the count 0-2, Owings ripped a 77-mph curveball down the left field line to drive in Chris Herrmann for the D-backs’ first run, tying the game at 1 in the second inning. Herrmann had opened the frame with a nine-pitch walk. By the way, Owings finished 2-for-4 and is now batting .400 (12-for-30) during the streak.

The two other hits Peavy allowed belonged to Brandon Drury and Rickie Weeks, Jr. Drury singled in the fourth while Weeks doubled in the sixth inning. Drury continues to impress at the plate. He is now hitting .323 (32-for-99) with seven doubles, six home runs and 11 RBI over his last 24 games. Weeks, meanwhile, made the most of what was his third start this month and fourth overall this season.

Though he saw his 11-game hitting streak—one game shy of his career long—come to an end, Segura (0-for-5) reached base safely for a 21st straight game, extending his career-high mark with an RBI fielder’s choice in the seventh inning. The ground ball to second base had inning-ending double play written all over it, but Segura beat the throw, allowing Owings to score the D-backs’ second run.

OK, so it wasn’t a hit but Gosselin once again came through in a pinch-hitting situation. Called upon to hit for reliever Evan Marshall (1.1 scoreless innings) with one out in the eighth inning, Gosselin lifted a 1-1 fastball high into the air and deep enough in right field to bring home Paul Goldschmidt from third base with the tying run. Gosselin has seven pinch-hits this season, the most in the National League.

THE BAD

Six pitches into the game, the Giants had a 1-0 lead. Span tripled into the right-center gap and Panik followed with a bloop single to left field, the ball dropping just beyond the reach of Nick Ahmed. For Panik, it was his fourth hit and sixth RBI of the series, and the hit snapped Corbin’s 15.0 consecutive scoreless innings streak against the Giants, the second-longest streak in team history by a starter.

Three innings later, the Giants added two more runs off Corbin. With one on and no outs, Pence hit a two-run home run, scoring Posey, who singled to lead off the fourth. Pence clubbed a 1-0 changeup, reaching down and away in the zone to make contact and sent the ball over the fence in left field. Pence improved to 11-for-23 (.478) lifetime with four home runs and nine RBI against Corbin.

Yes, he leads all Major League shortstops with eight defensive runs saved—ahead of Andrelton Simmons (7) and Brandon Crawford (6)—but Ahmed committed his team-high sixth error of the season when his throw pulled Goldschmidt off the first base bag, enabling Kelby Tomlinson to reach safely to lead off the seventh inning. A year ago, it wasn’t until game No. 67 that Ahmed reached six errors.

STAT OF THE GAME

1-for-10: The D-backs batted .100 with runners in scoring position, stranding six of the eight men they left on base at either second or third base.

HE SAID IT

“We left guys out there, second and third nobody out,” manager Chip Hale said, referring to the second inning. “You just can’t do that and be successful and win games whether it’s at home or on the road or—it doesn’t matter. When you have opportunities to score (with the) infield back, you got to take them. You got to get at least one there.”

NOTED

– Corbin recorded nine fly ball outs, including six to begin the game retiring the Giants in the first and second innings.

– Goldschmidt had not had a hit yet in the series (0-for-11) before he singled up the middle to lead off the eighth inning.

– Hale spent the early part of the day down in Tucson attending his daughter’s graduation from Salpointe High School.

– David Peralta (right wrist soreness) missed his sixth straight game; an MRI Thursday revealed no structural damage.

– With 100-degree temperatures at first pitch, the game began with the roof closed. The roof opened after three innings.

– Uniform watch: the D-backs dropped their record to 1-3 when wearing the black alternate with black gradient “A” cap.

– After a recent rehab assignment with Single-A Visalia, Josh Collmenter (shoulder) joined Triple-A Reno on Saturday.

– The D-backs extended their player development contract with Triple-A Reno of the PCL for two years through 2018.

UP NEXT

The four-game series concludes with a pair of right-handers on the mound as Rubby De La Rosa opposes Matt Cain on Sunday.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 40 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

De La Rosa (4-4, 3.93) has won four of his last five starts, including his most recent outing when he held the Rockies to one run on four hits in 7.1 innings. He added six strikeouts versus one walk.

In his career, De La Rosa is 4-1 with a 3.62 ERA in seven games (five starts) against the Giants.

Meanwhile, Cain (0-5, 6.69) will be looking to end a three-start losing streak, a stretch in which he’s allowed 14 runs and an opponent batting average of .315 in 18 innings pitched.

Cain, a three-time All-Star, has faced the D-backs once already this season, taking the loss on April 19.

Overall, Cain owns a 14-8 record with a 3.54 ERA in 36 games (35 starts) lifetime against the D-backs.

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