Diamondbacks-Giants Recap: Playoff Atmosphere

Wade Miley got the only victory of the series vs. the Giants. Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

It was a playoff-like atmosphere (minus the large crowds) when the Arizona Diamondbacks hosted the San Francisco Giants for three games. This might have been the most important set of games left in the D’backs’ season as they next travel to Colorado and Minnesota. By the time they finish off the year with St. Louis at Chase Field, the Cardinals’ playoff fate will probably have been decided. As for the Giants, they entered the series three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

The first game of the series saw the D’back offense pick up right where they left off against the Padres. Mark Trumbo had perhaps his best game as a Snake with a grand slam and an RBI single backing Wade Miley in a 6-2 victory. A.J. Pollock added an RBI triple and two runs scored as the team collected nine hits. Miley was brilliant, allowing only a single run and no walks over seven innings in picking up his eighth win of the season. Ryan Vogelsong took the loss giving up Trumbo’s slam in the third inning. The Giants managed to outhit the D’backs 11 to 9 but could not strike the big blow when it counted. After leading off the seventh and eighth innings with two baserunners, they could only score one run in each frame.

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On Tuesday, Josh Collmenter had yet another great outing, going eight innings and allowing only two runs. Unfortunately, the hit parade ended as Jake Peavy gave up only a run in 7 2/3 innings as the Giants evened the set with a 2-1 victory. The only Arizona run came when Pollock drove in Chris Owings with a single in the sixth inning, tying the game at 1. Brandon Crawford‘s sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh was the difference. Earlier, Buster Posey hit his 21st home run of the season to give the Giants the lead. The Snakes mounted a threat in the eighth when Ender Inciarte singled and Owings was hit by a pitch, both with two outs. However, Sergio Romo came on to get Pollock to fly out to right field to end the inning. As for Collmenter, he will get at least one more chance to go for his career-high 11th victory.

In the rubber match, Andrew Chafin got his second Major League start and faced off with 18-game winner Madison Bumgarner. The rookie Chafin matched Bumgarner, one of the league’s top winners inning for inning, each throwing six frames and allowing two earned runs. Arizona had runners on seemingly every inning as they pounded out seven hits with two walks. Chafin got credit for the team’s only RBI with a single in the second. He allowed three hits and four walks on the afternoon. Tuffy Gosewisch went 3 for 4 while Trumbo was awful, striking out four times in four plate appearances. In the end, it was Matt Duffy‘s pinch-hit two run single with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th off Addison Reed that gave San Francisco a 4-2 win. Combined with the latest Dodgers’ debacle, a 16-2 shellacking by the Rockies, the Giants are now two games out of first with three games in Los Angeles next week.

The Diamondbacks are now 62-90, one game ahead of the Rockies in the NL West. They travel to Colorado tomorrow for a four game series, the beginning of their final road trip of the season.