Associated Press
Associated Press
PHOENIX — Hunter Pence raced to first base to reach on a fielder’s choice, then took off for second. Once there, he raced toward third, stealing another base and inducing a throwing error that allowed him to score San Francisco’s first run.
Full Throttle’s daring baserunning was just what the Giants needed to break out of their offensive funk.
Pence kick started San Francisco’s offense with his aggressiveness, hitting a homer and scoring three runs to help the Giants pound the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-5 Saturday night.
“He’s trying to live up to that name Full Throttle,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s a guy that the team feeds off his energy. He knows we’ve been struggling offensively and he’s not afraid to push the envelope a little bit. It ended up being big.”
Madison Bumgarner (5-4) gave the Giants a quality start, pitching five effective innings to end a four-game losing streak.
His teammates gave him some rare run support, too, roughing up Trevor Cahill (3-7) while scoring two more runs than in the previous six games combined.
Buster Posey hit a two-run homer in San Francisco’s six-run fourth inning and added a run-scoring single in the sixth.
The bottom of the Giants’ lineup came through as well; Brandon Crawford set a career-high with four hits in the No. 8 spot and Brandon Belt added three more of San Francisco’s 15 hits.
Pence was the catalyst, scoring the opening run with his dash around the bases, another after hitting his 200th career double in the fourth and adding a leadoff homer in the seventh to give the Giants extra cushion after the Diamondbacks tried to rally.
“He has a knack for doing that,” Bumgarner said. “He gets everyone excited and makes it fun to play.”
He made it rough on the Diamondbacks, who had been on a roll.
Paul Goldschmidt matched Luis Gonzalez’s 2002 team record with an RBI in his eighth straight game on a groundout in Arizona’s four-run sixth inning, but the Diamondbacks weren’t able to climb out of the big early hole of Cahill’s shortest outing of the season.
“He really struggled throwing the ball in the corner today and they were swinging the bats good,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “You have to give them a little bit of credit. They just beat on us.”
Bumgarner pitched well in two previous starts against Arizona this season, allowing a run in 14 1-3 innings. He didn’t a get a win in either, though, after the Giants scored only one total run for him.
The lack of run support has been a common theme for the lefty this season. San Francisco averages 3.0 runs per game when he starts, sixth-lowest in the NL, and backed him up with two runs his past three starts combined.
It may not have mattered anyway. Bumgarner allowed nine earned runs in 12 2/3 innings the past two starts.
The Giants gave him plenty of help this time, matching the previous three games in the second inning thanks to Pence and Andres Torres.
Pence manufactured one run, reaching on a fielder’s choice, stealing second and third, then scoring on catcher Miguel Montero’s throwing error into left field. Torres made it 2-0 with a crafty slide around Montero on a close play at the plate after Crawford’s double.
The Giants poured it on in the fourth inning with six more runs, an outburst punctuated by Posey’s nearly-touch-the-ceiling two-run homer that made it 8-0 and chased Cahill.
Cahill allowed eight runs on nine hits in 3 2-3 innings after giving up five runs in five innings his last start.
“It kind of happened quick,” Cahill said. “I left a lot of balls up and when I got ahead and tried to put them away, I get it belt high and down the middle.”
Bumgarner rolled through the first five innings before being chased on A.J. Pollock’s run-scoring double in the sixth. Goldschmidt followed with his RBI groundout off Ramon Ramirez to make it 9-2.
Bumgarner allowed three runs on three hits. He also walked and scored in the sixth inning.
“Bum was good,” Bochy said. “I don’t know if running the bases there (fatigued him), but he just started missing spots. But he did a great job and we had some good at-bats.”
BRAVES 2, DODGERS 1
LOS ANGELES — Kris Medlen pitched 6 2-3 scoreless innings and hit his first major league home run, Dan Uggla also went deep, and Atlanta continued its recent stretch of dominant starting pitching in a victory over Los Angeles.
Medlen (3-6) scattered five hits, struck out six and allowed only one baserunner as far as third. That was in the sixth inning, when the right-hander retired Andre Ethier on a flyball to shallow center field and fanned Scott Van Slyke after Nick Punto led off with a double and advanced on a groundout by Adrian Gonzalez.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth for his 18th save in 21 attempts.
Stephen Fife (1-1) allowed two runs and nine hits with seven strikeouts in his third start of the season.
PIRATES 6, CUBS 2
CHICAGO — A.J. Burnett pitched into the ninth inning and Pedro Alvarez and Russell Martin homered to lead Pittsburgh over Chicago.
Burnett (4-6) gave up four hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 8 1-3 innings to improve to 5-0 in his career at Wrigley Field. He had a shutout until Alfonso Soriano’s two-run home run to left with one out in the ninth ended a string of 18 straight scoreless innings by Pirates pitchers.
Burnett held the Cubs hitless until Nate Schierholtz’s double down the line in right leading off the fifth. He threw 112 pitches and left after Soriano’s home run.
The Pirates tagged Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija (3-7) for eight hits, including Alvarez’s two-run home run in the fourth, his team-high 13th of the year. The right-hander struck out seven and walked one in six innings.
PADRES 4, ROCKIES 2
DENVER— Kyle Blanks hit a two-run homer off the foul screen and Eric Stults tossed seven solid innings, helping San Diego to the victory over Colorado.
Everth Cabrera had three hits, including a bloop RBI double, and stole two more bases, running his season total to a major league-leading 28.
Jeff Francis (2-4) struggled in his first start since coming off the disabled list with a strained left groin. He allowed four runs and six hits in four innings.
Stults (5-5) never really ran into trouble against his former team, giving up seven hits and two runs (one earned) for his first win in four starts.
Dale Thayer pitched out of a jam in the eighth and Luke Gregerson closed out the ninth for his second save in three chances.
BREWERS 4, PHILLIES 3
MILWAUKEE — Jean Segura homered and Jonathan Lucroy hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the sixth inning, lifting Milwaukee past Philadelphia.
Domonic Brown hit his NL-leading 19th home run, and had a two-run double in the eighth to account for all of the Phillies’ runs.
Tyler Thornburg (1-0) pitched two innings of scoreless relief to earn his first major league victory. A top prospect for the Brewers coming into the season, he joined the team Wednesday despite going 0-7 with a 6.75 ERA in 12 starts for Triple-A Nashville.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth for his fourth save in four chances.
REDS 4, CARDINALS 2
CINCINNATI — Mat Latos turned in seven solid innings and Cincinnati broke out of its slump to beat St. Louis.
Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in two runs, and Jay Bruce also homered as the Reds snapped a three-game losing streak and scored more than two runs against St. Louis for the first time in the last seven games between the teams.
Latos (6-0), who got the decision in Cincinnati’s last win over St. Louis on April 29, allowed eight hits and two runs with no walks and five strikeouts against a Cardinals team that went into the game leading the National League in hitting.
The Reds, who’d lost five of their last six games against St. Louis, scored four against St. Louis rookie left-hander Tyler Lyons (2-2). He gave up six hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 5 1-3 innings.
Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless eighth and Aroldis Chapman allowed one hit and hit a batter in the ninth while earning his 16th save.
GIANTS 10, DIAMONDBACKS 5
PHOENIX — Buster Posey capped a six-run fourth inning with a homer and had three RBIs, Madison Bumgarner pitched five effective innings and San Francisco pounded Arizona.
Bumgarner (5-4) was sharp early to end a four-game losing streak and added an RBI with a sacrifice bunt in San Francisco’s big inning.
The Giants gave him some rare run support, too, roughing up Diamondbacks starter Trevor Cahill (3-7) while scoring two more runs than in the previous six games combined.
Hunter Pence homered and scored three runs, Posey added a run-scoring single to his two-run homer and Brandon Crawford had four of San Francisco’s 15 hits.
Paul Goldschmidt matched Luis Gonzalez’s 2002 team record with an RBI in his eighth straight game on a groundout in Arizona’s four-run sixth inning.
TWINS 4, NATIONALS 3, 11 Innings
WASHINGTON — Ryan Doumit singled in the go-ahead run, Joe Mauer homered, doubled and singled, and Minnesota won for the eighth time in 11 games.
Josh Roenicke (2-1) pitched a scoreless 10th inning for the win in the interleague game and Glen Perkins retired Washington in the 11th for his 13th save.
The Twins were playing their first game in Washington since 1971.
Jayson Werth homered and former Twin Denard Span added three hits for Washington, which has lost two straight and six of eight.
Pinch hitter Chris Hermann drew a walk off Craig Stammen (3-2) to open the 10th. Jamey Carroll bunted him to second and Mauer was intentionally walked. Doumit then hit a soft line drive to short center, scoring Hermann.
Trailing 3-2, the Nationals tied it against Twins starter Kevin Correia in the seventh.