Diamondbacks v. Giants: Three Stars of the Series
The Arizona Diamondbacks pulled off a four-game road sweep against the San Francisco Giants and had multiple players step up in the absence of A.J. Pollock to put the team at 9-8 and 2nd in the NL West.
The Arizona Diamondbacks went into AT&T Park on Monday with a 5-8 record. After Thursday’s game the Diamondbacks boosted themselves up to second place in the division, improved their record to 9-8, and had their first sweep of the Giants in a four-game series at the 17-year old ballpark.
With star outfielder A.J. Pollock on the shelf for the time being and Paul Goldschmidt off to a slow start other players have been asked to step up. And that is exactly what these guys did in the series against the Giants.
Let’s take a look at the three stars of the series for the Diamondbacks…
First Star- Jake Lamb: The San Francisco Giants held a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth inning of the first game of the series and they had Lamb down to his last strike. Lamb hit a two-strike solo shot to tie the game at 7-7. In the 11th inning Lamb added an insurance run on an RBI double to left-center field to put the Diamondbacks up 9-7.
Stats for the series: 7-for-15. 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 runs scored
Second Star- Robbie Ray: In game two of the series Ray threw six scoreless innings with eight strike outs against the Giants. He left the game with a 3-0 lead, which the Diamondbacks bullpen was able to protect for Ray to reward him his first victory of the season. He lowered his ERA on the season from 2.92 to 1.96 with the outing.
Stats for the series: 6.0 IP, 8 Ks, 0 earned runs, 5 hits allowed, 2 walks.
Third Star- Yasmany Tomas: Tomas was the player of the series against the San Diego Padres last weekend, but lands with the third star of the series against the Giants. Tomas hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the 4th inning to put the Diamondbacks up 3-2. Tomas collected one hit in each of the four games to extend his hitting streak to seven games.
Stats for the series: 4-for-15, 1 HR, 2 RBI.
Honorable Mention- Tyler Wagner: Shelby Miller was pulled after just two innings on Thursday when he gave up two earned runs, but had walked five batters in the two frames. Wagner came into a 2-2 tied game in the third inning and immediately shut the door on the Giants plans of spoiling the Diamondbacks sweep attempt. Wagner pitched five beautiful innings and although he struck out just one batter, he scattered just two hits in his outing.
Stats for the series: 7.0 IP, 2 Ks, 0 earned runs, 4 hits allowed.
Next: Cardinals: 2016 NFL Draft Targets
The Diamondbacks come back to Chase Field after their 10-game road trip tomorrow night to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game series. First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m.