A pair of NL West rivals finish off a series on the diamond in the city by the bay as the regular season winds down. The Arizona Diamondbacks are on the road as they close out a three-game set with the San Francisco Giants Sunday afternoon. In the opening game of the series Friday night, San Francisco jumped out in front early and rolled to a 10-4 victory to draw first blood. Will the Diamondbacks regroup in the finale here or can the Giants continue their recent success by prevailing in their home finale? This article was published prior to the conclusion of the middle game of the set at Oracle Park Saturday night.
Arizona lost for the third time in four games as they were knocked off in the opening game of this series Friday night. The Diamondbacks entered Saturday fourth in the NL West, 37 games behind the Dodgers for the top spot in the division. They have been eliminated from playoff contention. On Friday night, Jake McCarthy (run) had three hits for the Diamondbacks while Josh Rojas (run, RBI) and Carson Kelly each added a pair, though it wasn’t enough. Merrill Kelly (13-8) had a dud start as he took the loss on the mound. He gave up eight runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts over 4.2 innings of work.
Zach Davies is on the mound as he makes his 27th start of the season for the Diamondbacks in this contest. He comes in 2-5 with a 4.18 ERA, a 1.291 WHIP, 47 walks and 99 strikeouts over 129.1 innings of work this season. Davies took the loss in his last start, which came agai nst the Astros Tuesday on the road. He threw 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts in a game the Diamondbacks lost 10-2. In his last three starts, Davies is 0-1 with a 4.97 ERA, a 1.58 WHIP, five walks and 10 strikeouts over 12.2 innings of work. Davies makes his 10th career start against the Giants in this contest. He comes in 1-4 with a 3.70 ERA, a 1.403 WHIP, 13 walks and 33 strikeouts over 41.1 innings of work. Davies is 1-3 with a 3.18 ERA, a 1.412 WHIP, seven walks and 25 strikeouts over 28.1 innings in six career starts at Oracle Park.