A pair of rookies helped the Giants get their weekend in Arizona off to a winning start.
Andrew Suarez pitched six strong innings
Cheap Tarvarius Moore Jersey , Austin Slater had a pair of RBI doubles and San Francisco beat the Diamondbacks 2-1 on Friday night.
Suarez (3-4), a 25-year-old left-hander, gave up a run, scattering seven hits in his first win in five starts. The left-hander struck out five and walked two.
Five of the singles Suarez allowed were infield hits, including one that died halfway down the third-base line, an inch or two off the chalk.
”It was just weird,” Suarez said of the infield hit spree. ”I’ve never seen it like that. But it worked out thankfully. It could have been way worse and they’d have scored five or six runs.”
Suarez is among the young pitchers who are filling in well for the Giants while the veteran starters work their way back to health.
”We have difficult decisions the way these kids are throwing,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. ”As I said so many times, they’re doing what you’d hope they would do, is make the decision tough.”
Slater, recalled from Triple-A Sacramento four times this season – most recently last Saturday – doubled in a run off Patrick Corbin in the second and knocked in the go-ahead score off Andrew Chafin (1-3) in the seventh. Slater, who entered the game 4 for 15 in the majors this season, also singled.
He’s become accustomed to the back-and-forth trips to Sacramento.
”The first couple of times up and down it’s easy to lose focus
Dallas Goedert Jersey Elite ,” Slater said, ”but for me, I see it as a way to try to prove a point, that I was here to stay.”
One of these trips, after a few more of these nights, he may be right.
Will Smith pitched a perfect ninth for his first save since April 13, 2014. San Francisco relievers retired the last 12 batters they faced.
Chafin, relieving Corbin in a 1-1 tie, walked Brandon Crawford, who scored from first when Slater doubled to the right-center gap.
Corbin limited San Francisco to a run on four hits, striking out five and walking one in six innings, but left with his second straight no decision. In his previous outing, Corbin blanked Pittsburgh on three hits for seven innings and matched his career strikeout best with 12. Corbin last won on June 5 at San Francisco.
”Patrick was great today
Youth Mark Andrews Jersey ,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. ”He did everything we asked him to do. Would have sent him back out there in the seventh inning to get couple of hitters but we decided to pinch-hit for him. Unfortunately, one of the hazards of the National League game, but he did a great job and gave us a chance to win the game.”
The NL West-leading Diamondbacks opened a 10-game homestand after an 8-2 trip.
The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second. Buster Posey led off with a single and took second when Chris Owings bobbled the ball in center. Slater brought Posey home with a one-out double.
The Diamondbacks finally got to Suarez tied it in the sixth. Ketel Marte led off with a double to the fence in right-center. Owings was called out on a groundout to third on a close play. Arizona challenged and the call was overturned after a video review, leaving runners at first and third and no outs. Jake Lamb’s sacrifice fly to left brought home Marte and made it 1-all.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: RHP Johnny Cueto (right elbow strain) made his second rehab start Friday night for Triple-A Sacramento.
Diamondbacks: CF A.J. Pollock (fractured left thumb) made his first rehab start, with Triple-A Reno.
HIRANO’S MARK
Yoshihisa Hirano set a Diamondbacks record with his 25th consecutive appearance without allowing a run, getting the final two outs of the seventh inning. The Japanese right-hander broke the previous record of 24 shared by Brandon Lyon (2008) and J.J. Putz (2012).
It’s tied with Shigetoshi Hasegawa of Seattle (2003) for second-longest streak in the majors by a Japanese-born pitcher. Koji Uehara of Boston had 27 straight scoreless appearances in 2011.
UP NEXT
Giants RHP Derek Rodriguez (2-1, 3.82 ERA) makes his sixth major league start. San Francisco has won four of his previous five. Arizona RHP Shelby Miller (0-1, 12.27) makes his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery in the second game of the three-game weekend series.
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams wasn't himself as a rookie.
Back and knee injuries limited him to 11 receptions in 10 games last season, and a hamstring injury during OTAs this year had Williams wondering when his body would allow him to show why the Chargers selected him No. 7 overall in the 2017 draft.
Finally healthy, Williams has performed in training camp like the dominant receiver he was at Clemson.
"Not being able to do the things I'm used to doing, that was the main thing. Not being able to move how I want to move. Now I'm able to come out here and, you know, play how Mike Williams plays
Authentic P.K Subban Jersey , so I'm feeling comfortable right now," Williams said.
Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt had no doubts about Williams' ability to contribute at a high level after making 98 receptions for 1,361 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Tigers' 2016 national championship team. It was just a matter of staying on the field.
Whisenhunt pointed to the improvement Williams showed during the regular season, when he had seven catches for 62 yards in the two games against Jacksonville and Buffalo prior to sustaining the knee injury against Dallas on Thanksgiving Day.
"I think the thing with Mike that's pretty consistent is when he gets an amount of time where he's in a routine, he starts to get better," Whisenhunt said.
A consistent schedule was lacking for Williams in 2017. He sustained a herniated disc in his lower back on the first day of rookie minicamp in May, an injury that kept him out of training camp last year. The progress Williams made this offseason was interrupted by a minor hamstring strain, but he recovered in time to run and lift weights every day and do yoga at least twice a week going into his first training camp.
The difference in Williams' health has been evident. Always known as a receiver that uses his size effectively, he has been making contested catches consistently against the Chargers' strong crop of defensive backs.
"He goes up and attacks the ball," safety Jahleel Addae said. "That's the biggest thing you see with him is he can use his body to shield off defenders. He can go up and grab it, and that's something we need, for sure."
At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Williams' physical traits could be especially valuable with tight end Hunter Henry out for the season because of a torn ACL. All but one of Henry's 12 career touchdowns receptions have been in the red zone
Youth Russell Bodine Jersey , with eight coming inside the 10-yard line. Getting Williams matched up on jump balls at the goal line could offset those losses.
But Whisenhunt wants Williams to be more than a red-zone specialist. Whisenhunt and wide receivers coach Phil McGeoghan have been training Williams to line up all over the field, using Keenan Allen as the model for versatility.
"He set the standard of being able to line up in different spots and be successful, and that's what we're trying to do a little bit with Mike to create those matchups where we can use his size and hopefully those things can work out," Whisenhunt said.
Route running is one area where Williams is already emulating Allen, citing him as an influence for his development there.
"He sets defenders up so good, it's just good for me to come out here and learn from someone like him," Williams said. "I take a lot from his game."
All aspects of Williams' improvement were evident when the Chargers scrimmaged Saturday as he made two touchdown receptions.
"The confidence comes with making plays," Williams said.
NOTES: Defensive end Joey Bosa left practice early Tuesday because of a left foot injury.
.