The surging San Francisco Giants have made the NL West a little more intriguing.
Brandon Belt and Joe Panik drove in two runs each Bobby Orr Jersey , Hunter Pence had a pinch-hit, two-run double, and the Giants completed a three-game sweep with a 9-6 victory over the division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks. It was San Franciscor17;s seventh win in eight games and their first sweep of the Diamondbacks since September of 2016. San Francisco moved into a second-place tie at 2 1/2 games behind Arizona for the first time since June 10.
A four-run fifth inning highlighted by Pencer17;s double off reliever Silvino Bracho gave the Giants an 8-3 lead. Cory Gearrin (1-1) got one out in the fourth inning to earn the win in relief of starter Derek Holland.
Afterward, manager Bruce Bochy praised the veteran Pence r11; who is primarily a bench player at present r11; for accepting his role.
r1;He is our spiritual leader. I know his role has changed and he has handled it so well. This is a little bit of a change for him and it is not easy,r1; Bochy said. r1;He has a great attitude and just wants to help the club win.r1;
The Giants tagged starter Zack Godley (9-6) for seven runs on nine hits in four-plus innings, ending his four-game winning streak. But Holland didnr17;t make it out of the fourth, chased after loading the bases with an intentional walk with San Francisco leading 4-3.
The Diamondbacks couldnr17;t take advantage, as Belt raced well beyond the first base bag into shallow right field to throw out Christian Walker at first and end the inning.
r1;We feel like we are in a good rhythm,r1; Pence said. r1;Itr17;s part of baseball and we feel like we are working on all cylinders and that is definitely momentum.r1;
Holland allowed three runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Godleyr17;s five walks were the second most her17;s issued in a start this season.
r1;I couldnr17;t locate certain pitches and they took advantage of that,r1; Godley said. r1;Theyr17;re swinging the bat really well right now, one through nine.r1;
Arizona rallied with two runs in the seventh on Paul Goldschmidtr17;s 18th home run of the season, and Jarrod Dyson became the eighth player in team history to record at least two hits, two RBIs and two stolen bases in a game.
The Diamondbacks brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth with two outs, but Will Smith struck out Jake Lamb for Smithr17;s second save.
r1;They kicked our butts. They came in here and beat us, straight up,r1; Lamb said.
WALKER IN LEFT
Walker Jeff Petry Jersey Kids , normally a first baseman, started Sunday in left field for the first time in his 44-game major league career.
FREQUENT FLIER
To help provide coverage for the bullpen amid a long stretch without a day off, Arizona called up Bracho from Triple-A Reno before Sundayr17;s game. Pitcher Jimmy Sherfy was sent back to Reno. Bracho has been recalled five times this season.
FIRST PITCH FOR FIRST PICK
Recently drafted Phoenix Suns big man Deandre Ayton, the first overall pick in Juner17;s NBA Draft, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Sundayr17;s game.
TRAINERr17;S ROOM
Giants: 3B Pablo Sandoval was hit by a pitch in the right elbow in the third inning and left the game before the bottom of the inning. X-rays were negative and the injury was announced as a deep bruise, with Sandovalr17;s status day to day. r30; 3B Evan Longoria is about a week away from taking some swings as he works his way back from a broken left hand, Bochy said. r30; RHP Jeff Samardzijar17;s final rehab start for Triple- A Sacramento is set for Monday and he is expected to pitch five or six innings with around 90 pitches.
Diamondbacks: INF Ketel Marte was held out after suffering a right leg cramp in Saturdayr17;s game. Manager Torey Lovullo said he felt the team r1;dodged a bulletr1; as far a more serious injury.
UP NEXT
Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (1-2) is set for his sixth start of the season in the series opener against the Colorado Rockies on Monday in Denver.
Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (3-0) is set to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the series opener at Chase Field on Monday.
r12;
Marlins closer Kyle Barraclough was the National Leaguer17;s best reliever in June, which makes him a trade target in July.
The hard-throwing right-hander was chosen NL reliever of the month, an honor that will assume a prominent place in his collection, partly because therer17;s little competition.
r1;I donr17;t really have many items on my trophy shelf,r1; Barraclough said Monday. r1;A high school championship, maybe. I try not to pay much attention to individual awards. I like to win games.r1;
As the trade deadline approaches, Barracloughr17;s recent dominance makes him attractive to contending teams looking to shore up their bullpens. And with the Marlins in a rebuilding mode, theyr17;ll listen to offers.
Barraclough allowed one hit in 36 at-bats in June, tossed 12 scoreless innings and converted all seven save chances while the Marlins went 14-14, their best month this season.
Barraclough began this week on a streak of 20 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings dating to May 8. He had a .085 batting average against for the season Jonathan Drouin Jersey , lowest in the majors. His ERA of 0.99 was fourth-lowest.
He moved into the closerr17;s role a month ago for the first time in his career, and the change brought stability to a bullpen that had been one of Miamir17;s weakest areas.
r1;Kyle has been great,r1; manager Don Mattingly said. r1;Getting that reliability back there has been really good for us.r1;
Barraclough has a fastball that clocks in the upper 90s, and in 2016-17 he averaged 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings. His whiffs are down slightly this year, but walks also are down thanks to improved command.
r1;Attacking the strike zone has been the big thing the last two months or so,r1; he said. r1;Getting ahead of the hitters has put everyone on the defensive and allowed me to use my off-speed stuff.r1;
The result is more efficient outings. Barracloughr17;s pitch counts for his June saves, all requiring three outs, were 13, 11, 14, 14, 11, 10, 10.
r1;You donr17;t need to throw 25 pitches and strike everyone out,r1; he said. r1;A groundout is just as good as a strikeout.r1;
