SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants long ago lost touch with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and earlier this month the San Diego Padres opened up a big gap on the reigning NL West champion. As disappointing as that was, there was another possibility that would have been nearly as hard to swallow.
There was a point earlier this month when it looked like the ascending Arizona Diamondbacks would pass the Giants, as well, leaving them in a battle with the Colorado Rockies for last place. With a strong road trip, the Giants at least pushed back on the new challenger.
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After sweeping the Rockies, the Giants took two of three from the Diamondbacks, capping the big trip with a 3-2 win at Chase Field on Sunday.
The big blow Sunday came after a couple of big missed opportunities. The Giants got runners on the corners with no outs in the sixth -- but didn't score. They loaded the bases in the seventh, but J.D. Davis' two-out liner was hit right at the shortstop. An inning later, they were at it again, loading the bases once again, and this time they were able to strike.
Evan Longoria smoked a two-run single off former teammate Reyes Moronta that gave the Giants and Jakob Junis the lead, and Davis added a solo shot an inning later for his fourth hit of the day, matching a career high.
Camilo Doval gave up a run but closed the Diamondbacks out in the ninth, earning his 26th save. That clinched a 6-1 road trip and got the Giants back to 75-78 as they head home to face the same two teams, the Rockies and Diamondbacks.
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Double-Opener?
The Giants have used an opener in front of Junis before, but on Sunday they turned it into more of a "bullpen game," using two left-handers before Junis came in with two outs in the third. The plan was pretty successful, at least in how it started.
Against a team with a lot of solid left-handed hitters, the Giants started Scott Alexander and then went to Jarlin Garcia, who recorded five outs after Alexander had a scoreless first. Alexander now has allowed just two runs in 14 appearances since joining the bullpen, while Garcia has thrown 9 2/3 scoreless innings over his last six appearances. The left side of the bullpen is a lot better off than it was a couple months ago.
However You Get It Done
This was Junis' start day but he's had a rough second half, so the Giants went about things in a different way. Junis entered with two outs in the third inning and took the ball all the way to the ninth, when Doval took over.
Junis ended up going 5 1/3 innings and allowing just one run on four hits while striking out seven. He put two on in the eighth and the bullpen was humming, but the staff stuck with Junis, and he rewarded the faith by getting Alek Thomas to bounce out to end the inning. That was Junis' 83rd pitch out of the pen. No matter how you map it out, this was one of his better performances in the last three months.
He's On The Board
On Saturday, Ford Proctor became the 65th player to suit up for the Giants, setting a franchise record. A day later, he picked up a souvenir.
Proctor lined a fastball the other way in the seventh for his first big league hit, delighting the big group of Proctors who flew into Phoenix for this weekend's games.
Proctor is the 34th different player to record a hit for the Giants this season, a list that includes five first-timers. Proctor joined David Villar, Heliot Ramos, Bryce Johnson and Jason Krizan as Giants who have picked up their first big league hit this season. It has been a busy year for the authenticators.