Giants Sweep Diamondbacks off their feet

AT&T PARK — Starting pitching has been the story for the Giants the last 10 home games and it added another chapter Thursday afternoon.

Jake Peavy (W, 5-4, 2.29) threw 5-2/3 innings of one-run ball to go along with eight strikeouts in the Giants 6-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks to complete the three-game sweep.

Peavy felt he pitched well enough, but was irked at being pulled in the sixth:

“I hate that I couldn’t pitch a little deeper in today’s ball game, but it was good to get the guys in the bullpen out there and show what they’re made of.”

Giants starters have a 1.00 ERA (8 ER, 72 IP) and .157 opponents average against (37-for-236) in their past 10 at home.

Manager Bruce Bochy put emphasis on the starting pitching going forward:

“That’s going to have to continue the rest of the way. I’ve been pleased with what our starters have done.”

The win makes AT&T Park a scary place for opponents to play this year where the Giants hold a season-high home winning streak of nine games, outscoring opponents 58-14 in that span.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will test that fortitude this weekend when they come to town for a trio of games starting Friday.

Buster Posey couldn’t compare the current Giants team with the one the Dodgers swept in late July. He attributed that to his “short memory,” but did share his thoughts on the club’s current mentality.

“We’re feeling good right now…We’re excited to be in the hunt for the division and hopefully get to experience the playoffs again.”

San Francisco jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the first with a Hunter Pence single that drove in Angel Pagan. The Giants are now 59-17 this season when they score first.

Pagan has done exactly what you want a leadoff hitter to do for a better part of the season. He finished Thursday 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs to bump his average up to .307 for the year.

The Giants tacked on two more in the third and fourth with singles from Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Crawford respectively to make it 3-1.

Diamondbacks starter Randall Delgado (L, 3-4, 5.48) took the loss after four innings seven hits and three earned runs.

The relief didn’t fair any better.

Matt Stites took the mound in the sixth and drew a three of a kind, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks to make it 6-1 Giants. Closer Santiago Casilla gave up a solo home run to Jake Lamb to finish the game in a non-save situation.

Thursday’s win was preceded by a visit from Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig in his 18th stop of a farewell tour.

The Giants will begin an important three-game series at home against the NL West-rival Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night. Madison Bumgarner (17-9, 3.02) will take the hill opposite lefty Hyun-jin Ryu (14-6, 3.16). First pitch is at 7:15 p.m.

In classic Peavy fashion, he couldn’t help but express his excitement for the upcoming series after Thursday’s game:

“I’ll have my pom poms out all weekend. That’s for sure.”

Notes

Bochy noted that Brandon Belt has been cleared to resume all baseball activities after Thursday’s game. He’ll rejoin the team Friday. … Pagan went 7-for-12 (.583) with five runs scored in this series against the Diamondbacks. He is hitting .488 (21-for-43) in 10 games against Arizona this season. … Peavy is now 5-1 with a 1.12 ERA (5 ER, 40-1/3 IP) in his last six starts.

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