Apr 3, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants batter Angel Pagan hits a three run home run in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Angel Paganbelted a three-run homer to cap a five-run eighth inning Thursday and the San Francisco Giants came from behind to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-5 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
The Giants (3-1) took three of four in their opening series against Arizona (1-5).
Trailing 5-3 entering the top of the eighth,Hunter Pencegot the inning started with a one-out walk off relieverWill HarrisandHector Sanchezroped a double into right that brought Pence all the way around to cut the deficit to 5-4. AfterBrandon Crawfordflew out, Arizona managerKirk Gibsonopted to intentionally walk pinch-hitterBuster Posey. That brought up another pinch-hitter,Michael Morse, who tied the game with a single up the middle.
Pagan then drilled a blast to right-center field, his first homer of the season, to put the Giants up 8-5.
Santiago Casillaretired five hitters in the eighth and ninth, fanning two, andJavier Lopezcame on to get the last out as the Diamondbacks couldn’t muster any sort of late rally.
The Giants took an early lead whenBrandon Belthit his third homer in four games, taking new Arizona pitcherBronson Arroyodeep to right in the top of the first. Because small sample sizes can be fun, Belt is now on pace to hit 122 home runs this season.
But the Diamondbacks got back atTim Lincecum, making his first start of the season for the Giants, in the bottom of the first.Aaron Hilllined a single to center andPaul Goldschmidtfollowed with his first homer of the season, a towering shot to right-center field.
Goldschmidt is now 11-for-21 with six homers in his career against Lincecum, who might want to consider rolling the ball to the plate in the future.
The Giants tied it up in the fourth whenPablo Sandovalled off the inning with a double, went to third on a base hit by Pence and scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Sanchez.
San Francisco chased Arroyo in the fifth. Pagan led off with a double to right and moved to third onGregor Blanco’s sacrifice. With Belt due up, Gibson went to left-handerOliver Perez, who got Belt and Sandoval to pop up to end the inning.
Arroyo allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in his Diamondbacks debut, striking out three. He came into the game with a 2.69 career ERA and 1.299 WHIP against the Giants in 14 career appearances, 13 starts, had has thrown two shutouts against them. It’s his lowest ERA against any team against whom he has made more than 10 starts.
Arizona grabbed the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Hill led off with a single and with one out, he stole second, and advanced to third on a groundout.Mark Trumboconnected for his second homer of the series to straightaway center field to put the Diamondbacks up 4-2.
Lincecum worked six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and striking out seven.
Brandon Hicksclosed the gap to 4-3 with a pinch-hit home run—his first as a Giant—offJosh Collmenterwith one out in the seventh.
But Arizona got the run back in the bottom of the inning.David Huffcame on to make his debut with the Giants and after a walk and two groundouts,Jean Machicame on to face the right-handed swinging Hill, who lined a double to left to scoreGerardo Parra.
But the Giants rallied in the eighth to get the win.
Huff was charged with a run on a walk in two-thirds of an inning. Jean Machi (2-0) got the win, allowing Hill’s double while recording one out. Harris (0-1) was tagged with the loss for Arizona, as he was charged with all five runs in the eighth.
Pagan had a big day, going 3-for-5 with a double and a homer, as the Giants banged out nine hits. Pagan was 8-for-19 in the series, Posey was 5-for-12 and Bely was 6-for-18 with his three homers. On the other side, Pence was 1-for-16 and Sandoval went 3-for-16.
The Giants now head on to Los Angeles for their first series of the year with the Dodgers.Ryan Vogelsongis scheduled to make his first start Friday afternoon for the Giants against left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu (1-0). Game time is 1:30 p.m.
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