SAN FRANCISCO—Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell lasted just one inning and 42 pitches, but the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3–2 Thursday behind a walk-off, ninth-inning double from Patrick Bailey, who drove in all three of his team’s runs.
Arizona sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning, taking advantage of defensive sloppiness. Shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald threw wide of second for a run-scoring error on Josh Bell’s grounder, and Corbin Carroll scored from third on a passed ball as Jake McCarthy reached on a dropped third strike.
Snell said he knew when facing his final batter of the inning that he was probably done after the first.
“It was just too many pitches,“ Snell said. ”It was just not smart to go back out. I’ve done it before, but I never felt good after. It was just a lot of risk, not a lot of reward.”
Melvin agreed that Snell’s pitch count was too high to send him back out, noting the defensive miscues were costly.
“A lot of times, a starter’s not quite in his rhythm in the first, and then we don’t make some plays for him. Next thing you know, he’s got 42 pitches,” Melvin said.
Snell allowed two hits and walked two, stranding two runners when Kevin Newman grounded out. He entered with a 1.30 earned-run average over his previous 10 games. Only one of the runs off him Thursday was earned.
“It’s tough to be so critical on myself right now because it’s one inning,” Snell said. “It wasn’t like the fourth inning. It was the first inning. We’re getting it going. I felt good. Stuff felt good. It was just a weird inning.”
Bailey tied the score 2–2 with a two-out, two-run single in the fourth off Merrill Kelly.
Fitzgerald singled off Kevin Ginkel (7–3) leading off the ninth and stole second as catcher Adrian Del Castillo’s throw was wide. Bailey followed with a ground-rule double to left-center field, lifting the Giants to just their second win in eight games.
Bailey entered hitting .080 (6 for 75) since July 31. He said he’s made progress from last year to this year, his first full season in the big leagues, though his statistics might not reflect improvement.
“The last month and a half haven’t gone the way I wished,” Bailey said. “But I’ve felt better the last couple days and last couple games.”
Landen Roupp (four innings), Erik Miller and Tyler Rogers (one inning each), Camilo Doval (two outs), and Ryan Walker (four outs) combined for eight scoreless innings of two-hit relief. Walker improved to 9–3.
Diamondbacks Manager Torey Lovullo said pregame he hoped his players would grind some at-bats and get Snell out of the game early. He got his wish, but Arizona could not capitalize against the San Francisco bullpen.
“That’s not going to be an easy task. either,” Lovullo said. “Their bullpen is very good.”
Kelly struck out eight in seven innings.
Contract Talks
Snell watched as teammate Matt Chapman inked a six-year, $151 million contract extension on Wednesday. Similar to Chapman, the 31-year-old Snell is represented by Scott Boras and can opt-out of his two-year, $62 million deal after this season and test free agency.When asked if Chapman’s extension was something he'd like for himself, Snell said that a “deal would be nice.
Trainer’s Room
Diamondbacks: Infielder Ketel Marte (sprained left ankle) could be activated off the injured list during the team’s upcoming series at Houston.Up Next
Diamondbacks: Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (9–7, 4.32) is set to start Friday at Houston, which plans to open the series with left-hander Framber Valdez (13–6, 3.11).Giants: Rookie right-hander Mason Black (0–2, 7.45) is Friday’s scheduled starter at San Diego. The Padres are set to go with right-hander Michael King (11–8, 3.17).
