The San Francisco Giants put an emphatic end to their four-game losing streak, riding Justin Verlander’s vintage performance and a five-run 11th inning to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5–1 in the series finale in Phoenix, Wednesday afternoon.
Justin Verlander looked sharp from the start, retiring the first three batters he faced on just 20 pitches in the opening inning. He scattered only three hits across seven innings, striking out three while walking two. At 42 years old, Verlander worked efficiently through traffic and held Arizona’s lineup quiet. He finished with a line of 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO on 107 pitches.
On the other side, Brandon Pfaadt was even more dominant. He held San Francisco without a hit through five innings before Drew Gilbert finally broke through in the sixth with a single to right. Pfaadt finished nine innings of one-hit baseball, striking out seven and walking just one in a gutsy 97-pitch outing.
The Giants struggled to get anything going against Pfaadt. Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman were all retired in order in the first, and San Francisco’s first baserunner didn’t arrive until Adames worked a walk in the opening inning. After Gilbert’s sixth-inning single, the Giants immediately grounded into a double play, killing their only real threat until extras.
Arizona didn’t do much better against Verlander. Geraldo Perdomo singled in the fourth and moved to third after a Carroll walk and Moreno lineout, but Verlander escaped by striking out Blaze Alexander on a full count. That was as close as the D-backs came all night to breaking through.
Both bullpens kept things locked after Verlander and Pfaadt exited. Spencer Bivens pitched a clean eighth, Ryan Walker escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth, and Joel Peguero breezed through the 10th to set up the Giants’ decisive rally.
The Giants finally erupted in the 11th. With Matt Chapman starting at second under extra-inning rules, Bryce Eldridge drew a walk to put two on. A passed ball allowed Chapman to take third, and Jerar Encarnación delivered the breakthrough — a sharp RBI single to center that plated Chapman for the game’s first run.
Pat Bailey followed with a bloop single to load the bases, setting the stage for Christian Koss. The rookie ripped a two-run double off the center-field wall, giving San Francisco a 3–0 cushion. After Gilbert struck out, Grant McCray — who had come in as a pinch hitter for Heliot Ramos — lifted a sacrifice fly to left to score Bailey. Devers capped the rally with a roped RBI single to left, making it 5–0 Giants.
The D-backs got one back in the bottom of the 11th. With Perdomo at second, Carroll lifted a sac fly to left to put Arizona on the board. Encarnación made a sliding catch on the play, preventing further damage, and Peguero finished the inning to seal the 5–1 victory.
The Giants managed just five hits all night, with four coming in the 11th. Meanwhile, Arizona tallied only four hits total.
With the win, the Giants improved to 76–76, snapping a four-game skid and staying alive in the Wild Card race. They now sit 2.5 games behind the Mets for the final spot, while the Diamondbacks fall to 77–76 and two games back.
The Giants have yet to be mathematically eliminated, and after snapping this four game losing streak, it applies even more pressure for every game to come.
This victory offered San Francisco a dose of momentum heading into a massive four-game series against the Dodgers in L.A., where Logan Webb is slated to open Thursday night.
Justin Verlander looked sharp from the start, retiring the first three batters he faced on just 20 pitches in the opening inning. He scattered only three hits across seven innings, striking out three while walking two. At 42 years old, Verlander worked efficiently through traffic and held Arizona’s lineup quiet. He finished with a line of 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO on 107 pitches.
On the other side, Brandon Pfaadt was even more dominant. He held San Francisco without a hit through five innings before Drew Gilbert finally broke through in the sixth with a single to right. Pfaadt finished nine innings of one-hit baseball, striking out seven and walking just one in a gutsy 97-pitch outing.
The Giants struggled to get anything going against Pfaadt. Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman were all retired in order in the first, and San Francisco’s first baserunner didn’t arrive until Adames worked a walk in the opening inning. After Gilbert’s sixth-inning single, the Giants immediately grounded into a double play, killing their only real threat until extras.
Arizona didn’t do much better against Verlander. Geraldo Perdomo singled in the fourth and moved to third after a Carroll walk and Moreno lineout, but Verlander escaped by striking out Blaze Alexander on a full count. That was as close as the D-backs came all night to breaking through.
Both bullpens kept things locked after Verlander and Pfaadt exited. Spencer Bivens pitched a clean eighth, Ryan Walker escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth, and Joel Peguero breezed through the 10th to set up the Giants’ decisive rally.
The Giants finally erupted in the 11th. With Matt Chapman starting at second under extra-inning rules, Bryce Eldridge drew a walk to put two on. A passed ball allowed Chapman to take third, and Jerar Encarnación delivered the breakthrough — a sharp RBI single to center that plated Chapman for the game’s first run.
Pat Bailey followed with a bloop single to load the bases, setting the stage for Christian Koss. The rookie ripped a two-run double off the center-field wall, giving San Francisco a 3–0 cushion. After Gilbert struck out, Grant McCray — who had come in as a pinch hitter for Heliot Ramos — lifted a sacrifice fly to left to score Bailey. Devers capped the rally with a roped RBI single to left, making it 5–0 Giants.
The D-backs got one back in the bottom of the 11th. With Perdomo at second, Carroll lifted a sac fly to left to put Arizona on the board. Encarnación made a sliding catch on the play, preventing further damage, and Peguero finished the inning to seal the 5–1 victory.
The Giants managed just five hits all night, with four coming in the 11th. Meanwhile, Arizona tallied only four hits total.
With the win, the Giants improved to 76–76, snapping a four-game skid and staying alive in the Wild Card race. They now sit 2.5 games behind the Mets for the final spot, while the Diamondbacks fall to 77–76 and two games back.
The Giants have yet to be mathematically eliminated, and after snapping this four game losing streak, it applies even more pressure for every game to come.
This victory offered San Francisco a dose of momentum heading into a massive four-game series against the Dodgers in L.A., where Logan Webb is slated to open Thursday night.
