Ninth-inning rally lifts Giants past Diamondbacks
PHOENIX -- Buster Posey hit a two-out, two-run double in the top of the ninth inning and Hunter Pence homered in the San Francisco Giants' 5-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Saturday.
Pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie singled with out in the ninth off right-hander Daniel Hudson (1-1) and Denard Span was hit by a pitch in the left leg. Joe Panik walked to load the bases before Matt Duffy grounded into a force out at home.
Posey hit a ground-rule double that bounced into the pool area in right-center field, or all three runners would have scored. Right-handed hitters had been 0-for-27 with two walks and a hit batsman against Hudson this season.
Pence hit a two-run homer that bounced off the top of the left-field fence for a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning. He is 11-for-24 with four homers and nine RBIs in his career against Arizona left-hander Patrick Corbin, who went 6 1-3 innings but did not get a decision.
Cory Gearrin gave up a one-out single in the ninth inning for his first career save. Closer Santiago Casilla had worked the previous three days.
Hunter Strickland (1-0) got the victory despite giving up the tying run when Paul Goldschmidt and Chris Herrmann singled and pinch-hitter Phil Gosselin hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
Giants right-hander Jake Peavy gave up one run and three hits in six innings as the Giants (21-18) won a season-high fourth straight. He struck out five and walked two.
Span had four hits, a triple and three singles, and Panik singled and drove in a run. Span has eight hits in the first three games of the series, and Panik has four, including homers in the first two games.
Chris Owings had two hits, drove in a run and scored the other for Arizona (17-22), which has lost four in a row after winning five straight.
Arizona swept a four-game series in San Francisco from April 18-21, and the Giants can sweep this four-game series with a victory Sunday.
Span tripled to right-center field on the fifth pitch of the game and scored when Panik singled on the sixth for a 1-0 lead.
Arizona tied it in the second when Chris Herrmann walked, reached second on an error and scored on Owings' double inside the bag at third.
Owings had three singles, a double and a triple in his last six at-bats.
Posey dropped a single into left field to lead off the fourth inning before Pence's home run crept into the first row of the left field seats to make it 3-1.
The Chase Field roof was opened between the third and fourth innings and had just finished opening when Pence hit his sixth home run of the season and 200th of his career.
NOTES: Arizona RF David Peralta (wrist) missed his seventh straight start and manager Chip Hale said a stay on the disabled list remains a possibility. "We have a date that we've decided that we are going to go to," Hale said. "It's coming up. Right now, it could go either way." ... San Francisco LF Angel Pagan (hamstring) missed 11 days but was not placed on the disabled list before returning to action Friday. ... Giants RHP Johnny Cueto received his 2015 World Series ring before the game. Acquired by Kansas City at the trade deadline, Cueto was 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA in four postseason appearances for the Royals. ... Hale attended his daughter's high school graduation in Tucson on Saturday morning before arriving at Chase Field about three hours before the start of the game. ... The Giants are 17-7 in games started by LHP Madison Bumgarner (5-3), RHP Johnny Cueto (7-1) and RHP Jeff Samardzija this season. They all are scheduled to start in a three-game series that begins Tuesday in San Diego.