Pinch-hitter Pavin Smith hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks from the San Francisco Giants 4-2 on Monday night.
Jake McCarthy got the winning rally started with a looping, one-out double down the left field line. Smith – batting for Eugenio Suárez – smashed a pitch from Randy Rodríguez (1-1), which barely crossed the yellow line above the wall in the middle.
“It’s pretty crazy, the things you dream about,” Smith said. “You play it in your head almost every day.”
The Diamondbacks have won three in a row, while the Giants have lost a season-high five straight.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. gave the D-backs a 1-0 lead in the second with a homer off Spencer Howard, marking the 100th longball of his career. Blaze Alexander’s RBI single up the middle later in the inning scored Suárez — who connected on a triple off the right-center wall — for a 2-0 lead.
San Francisco’s Matt Chapman doubled in the fourth to bring in Brett Wisely and cut the score to 2-1. Heliot Ramos tied the score at 2 in the seventh with a solo shot to the deepest part of the park, right-center.
The Giants threatened in the ninth, putting runners on first and third base with two outs. Jorge Soler hit a bouncing ball down the third base line to Suárez, who shot high to first base, but Christian Walker was able to jump in the air and grab the throw before tagging Soler just before he crossed the base.
“It’s an inch game, right?” Giants manager Bob Melvin said.
Walker’s stellar defensive play set the stage for Smith, who hit just his second home run of the season and his first career walk-off.
Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson gave up two runs in 7 2/3 innings, the longest outing of his career. He scored six hits and struckout one.
Nelson came into the game with a 6.02 ERA, but took a lot of early contact from the Giants as he only needed 80 pitches to navigate his outing.
“The fastball command and slider really showed up tonight,” Nelson said. “And the defense was incredible.”
In addition to Walker’s clutch tag at first in the ninth, McCarthy and Gurriel both made diving catches in the outfield. Alexander also made a diving stop at shortstop in the fourth and fired to first to eliminate Patrick Bailey.
“That’s how we do it here,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “We walk the field and are ready to make plays.”
Ryan Thompson (3-2) earned the victory with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Erik Miller was the opener for the Giants and threw a scoreless first inning. Howard came on in the second inning and threw 4 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and four hits.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: LHP Blake Snell (left groin strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list. The two-time Cy Young Award winner left Sunday’s game against the Yankees in the fifth inning after feeling uncomfortable. OF Michael Conforto (hamstring) was activated to take Snell’s roster spot.
Diamondbacks: SS Geraldo Perdomo (knee) is expected to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Reno on Wednesday.
NEXT ONE
The D-backs will start rookie LHP Blake Walston (0-0, 2.16 ERA) in the second game of the series on Tuesday. The Giants counter with LHP Kyle Harrison (4-2, 4.15).
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