San Francisco Giants Fall On Goldschmidt’s 3-Run Home Run

May 30, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (44) gets a base hit during the game against the Texas Rangers at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.The Rangers won 9-5. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Paul Goldschmidt wasn’t having a great game, so he decided to change that.

Goldschmidt, who had grounded into two double-plays, hit a three-run home run off of Jeremy Affeldt in the eighth inning to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.

San Francisco snatched a 1-0 lead on a Gregor Blanco RBI single, but Goldschmidt’s home run gave the D-backs a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Patrick Corbin, who lowered his ERA to a glistening 1.98, pitched well again, as he jumped ahead of the count with quality fastballs and finished off hitters with devastating off-speed pitches. However, the Giants were able to get to him in the seventh.

Blanco hit a two-out line drive up the middle, and the result was a huge RBI single for the Giants.

San Francisco hadn’t scored in its last 23 innings, and it had scored seven runs over its last 50 innings (1.26 runs every nine innings). The Giants registered eight hits tonight, but the D-backs got more out of their five hits.

Matt Cain pitched masterfully, as he only allowed four hits in seven innings. However, A.J. Pollock reached on a chopper to third base to start the eighth inning, and Bruce Bochy decided to pull the plug on Cain and insert Jeremy Affeldt. Affeldt got two outs, but he walked Willie Bloomquist.

That definitely cost him.

Goldschmidt hit a high, outside fastball deep to right field, and the line drive made it over the bullpen mound and into the first row of the seats. Chase Field erupted, and the Giants’ dugout’s spirits sunk. The team went into the clubhouse disappointed for the seventh time in its last 10 games when Heath Bell closed out the ninth for his 11th save.

San Francisco now trails the D-backs by four games, and its slipping behind Arizona. There’s obviously a lot of time left in the season, but the Giants don’t want to fall behind. They’re going to need to step on offense and on the bump, as the pitching hasn’t been sharp either.

Tomorrow, Madison Bumgarner takes the hill. If he can’t right the ship, the Giants will be in trouble. Their season isn’t in jeopardy yet, but the team needs to start picking it up. The NL West isn’t going to be dominated by any team, but sloppy baseball is never the right formula to winning a division.

Unfortunately for Giants fans, that’s the brand of baseball the team has played lately.