Diamondbacks demolish Giants in frightful Friday night beatdown

The Giants night wasn’t ugly, it was hideous. Drew Pomeranz (L, 1-5, 6.45 ERA) got roughed up, but San Francisco’s bullpen was slaughtered.

Arizona (26-25) steamrolled the Orange and Black, 18-2 and a baker’s dozen of those runs were owned by Trevor Gott, Nick Vincent and Derek Holland. the 18 runs were the most ever allowed in Oracle Park history.

Giants pitching wasn’t leaky Friday, it was Niagara Falls. And The first 60 seconds of the contest was perhaps an omen of what this game was going to be about.

Pomeranz tossed his first pitch at 7:15 p.m., and by 7:16 p.m., Ildemaro Vargas had knocked the fourth pitch of the ballgame over the left field wall (2) to put the  Diamondbacks (25-25) ahead 1-0. It went from there.

Bochy looked tired after the resounding defeat. He said:

“Occasionally you’ll have a game like this–trust me they’re not fun, especially at home. It started out [bad], gradually get worse and they just swung the bats. When it didn’t leave the park they found holes–it was their night and it was a long night.”

Over the course of gutting his way through eight outs Friday, Pomeranz whiffed no fewer than six batters. But when D-backs weren’t fooled, they were taking him for a ride and his pitch count was quickly inflated. He said: 

“Striking guys out–sometimes that can be a bad thing because you’re not getting quick outs. I feel like my stuff’s been good. I just gotta figure out some way to get better, be more in the zone more, mix up the pitches more, or something–but something’s gotta give here.”

When it was still a competitive game, the Giants (21-29) answered back. Tyler Austin hit a two-run 421-foot no-doubter that had an exit-velocity of 111-mph and a launch angle of 34-degrees, giving the Giants the lead, 2-1. 

It was just the eighth time the Giants scored in the first inning in 2019. They’ve never scored more than two runs in the first inning this season, and Friday’s instance was just the second time.

The lead was short-lived.

Pomeranz lasted just 2-2/3 innings allowing five runs and eight hits on 76 pitches.

He gave up a pair of runs in the second, and then in the third he loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a hit-by-pitch.

It was Tim Locastro whom he hit, and it would be the first of three nasty bruises Locastro would endure at the hands of Giants pitching Friday. It would be the first time in Giants history that San Francisco pitchers hit a batter three times, and Locastro was the first Diamondback ever to get plunked thrice in a game. Not the kind of records either team was likely thrilled to be setting.

Pomeranz promptly gave up a two-RBI single to Robbie Ray (W, 4-1, 3.25 ERA), who has a career batting average of .155, and manager Bruce Bochy pulled the plug with the D-backs up 5-2.

Of his night overall Pomeranz said he felt like he had good stuff but he said he needs to figure out how to lower his pitch count:

“I just gotta throw more strikes and be more consistent, I feel like my stuff’s going pretty good. I’m just not getting the job done. It’s pretty frustrating.”

Fans may have thought things looked grim as Pomeranz walked off the mound in the third, but it was nothing when compared with what was in store for the remaining 6-1/3.

Trevor Gott got the Giants off the field in the third, but when he came out to pitch the fourth  he loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a walk, and with a second-straight walk he forced home a run making it 6-2.

It was then that Vincent took the baton. Arizona continued their assault against Vincent. Locastro got his revenge when he knocked a single for two more runs, making it 8-2.

Bochy wanted some innings out of Vincent, so he came back out for the fifth. He allowed a back-to-back singles to lead off the inning before allowing a three-run shot (10) over the centerfield wall to Adam Jones. It was the fifth inning, there was one out and the Giants were down 11-2. 

Vincent opened the sixth inning by awarding Locastro his second plunking of the evening before allowing another two runs on a home run off the bat of Eduardo Escobar. 

When Holland replaced Vincent in the sixth, it was only natural that he hit Locastro again to set the aforementioned record. 

Holland allowed a hit and a batter reached on a fielders choice error from Donovan Solano, in at short for Brandon Crawford who remains benched with conjunctivitis. 

It was about then that the remaining 10,000 or so fans began chanting “Let Pablo Pitch.”

Bochy said he appreciated what Pablo Sandoval brings to just about every situation but especially in games like Friday’s when everyone needs a morale boost.

“He brings that to every game. You saw what the score was and he went out there and had two great at-bats. You know, I could hear ’em chanting, ‘Put Pablo in,’ and I wasn’t gonna pitch him tonight because he’s gonna start at third tomorrow. Last thing I need is him come up with a sore arm, but that’s why he so loved here, [because of] the way plays and the enthusiasm he brings every day.”

Sandoval entered the game in the seventh to replace Vincent and went 2-for-2 with a single and a double. With each hit an observer could’ve been forgiven for thinking he’d done something pivotal in as close ballgame with the way the hometown crowd cheered for him.

Ketel Marte added on with the Diamondbacks third home run of the night to top Arizona off at 18 against Holland in the seventh. The visiting team had the good graces to leave it at that.

Up Next

Andy Suárez (0-1, 4.50 ERA) will face right-hander Taylor Clarke (0-1, 2.00 ERA) Saturday against the Diamondbacks in Suárez’s second start with the Giants this season.

In 166-1/3 innings pitched for San Francisco in 2018, Suárez posted a 7-13 record with a 4.50 ERA. He started 2019 in Triple-A Sacramento and made his season debut in the big leagues Monday in a loss against the Braves. He allowed just four hits over six innings but two of them were homers, one of which came on the first pitch of the ballgame to Atlanta’s 22-year-old sensation, Ronald Acuña Jr.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. 

Notes

Mac Williamson continues to struggle to find his groove and after Friday night’s misery he is on an 0-for-21 skid.

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Julie Parker is SFBay’s San Francisco Giants beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @InsideThePark3r on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Giants baseball.