Major League Baseball
Arizona 3, San Francisco 2
When: 10:15 PM ET, Friday, September 15, 2017
Where: AT&T Park, San Francisco, California
Temperature: 64°
Umpires: Home - Doug Eddings, 1B - Ben May, 2B - Pat Hoberg, 3B - Jim Reynolds
Attendance: 39810

SAN FRANCISCO -- With J.D. Martinez out of the lineup Friday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks needed another outfielder to carry the offense.

Largely unnoticed, it turns out A.J. Pollock has been swinging a hot bat of late, too.

Pollock stroked a go-ahead, two-run double in the seventh inning, allowing the Diamondbacks to rally past the San Francisco Giants 3-2 in the opener of a three-game series.

Left-hander Robbie Ray ran his personal winning streak to five games with 10 strikeouts in seven innings, helping the Diamondbacks (86-62) retain a five-game lead over the Colorado Rockies in the National League wild-card race.

"Great effort all the way around," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo gushed. "You're down late, you're just looking for that one key moment. In a key spot, A.J. comes up with that big double and they score two runs.

"We built the inning and we got that hit at the right time. It was really a very special moment for us."

Arizona won its eighth straight on the road despite playing without the hot-hitting Martinez, who was a late scratch with a stiff neck.

So up stepped Pollock, who had four doubles and a homer among seven hits in the just-completed four-game split with Colorado.

"We're feeling good in the clubhouse," Ray said of the team effort. "It seems like guys are coming up big in situations where they need to. When we need a timely hit, we get it."

Ray won a pitchers' duel with Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija, who had retired 14 in a row and led 2-1 before the Diamondbacks strung together three consecutive hits to turn things in their favor in the seventh.

Pollock's double, a soft liner just on the fair side of third base and into the Giants' bullpen, scored Daniel Descalso and Ketel Marte, both of whom had reached Samardzija for one-out singles.

Samardzjia stormed behind the mound after Marte had slid home with the go-ahead run.

"I hate to lose," he explained. "Everybody hates to lose. That's the way it goes. It's frustrating."

It's more frustrating when you have a playoff contender on the ropes, Giants manager Bruce Bochy noted.

"Shark was really on. We got what we needed," Bochy insisted. "He's got the football mentality. I think he's fed up with the losing.

"It's been a tough year. Little things. That's why we're where we're at. We should have won this game. It got away from us."

Ray (14-5) limited the Giants to six hits. He allowed single runs in the first and sixth innings, the second of which was unearned because of his own error. He did not walk a batter in his 101-pitch effort.

Ray's fourth of 10 strikeouts in the game gave him 200 for a second consecutive season. It was his fourth straight double-figure strikeout game and 10th of the season.

"He has that little ingredient, that little extra gear, that he goes to get when he needs it," Lovullo said of Ray. "He's a strikeout pitcher. When he senses that he can finish you off with a strikeout, he goes and gets it."

Right-handers Archie Bradley and Fernando Rodney threw 1-2-3 innings of relief to close out the win, with Rodney recording his 37th save.

The Giants took a 2-1 lead in the sixth after singles by Samardzija and Joe Panik sandwiched a fly out.

Hunter Pence then grounded to Paul Goldschmidt behind first base and beat Ray in a race to the base for an infield single.

Pence's helmet and Ray's glove collided just past the base, with the ball squirting away from the pitcher, allowing Samardzija to score the go-ahead run.

Samardzija (9-14) left for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth, having allowed three runs on six hits in his eight innings. He struck out seven and, like Ray, did not issue a walk.

The 14th loss equaled his career high.

Descalso had two hits for the Diamondbacks, who won for the 19th time in their last 24 games and improved to 41-27 against the NL West in the process.

Panik and Pence had two hits apiece for the Giants, who have lost eight of their last 11 games.

Both teams finished with six hits.

The Giants scored first when Panik and Pence stroked consecutive one-out doubles in the first.

Two batters into the top of the second, the Diamondbacks tied the score against Samardzija, with Descalso lacing a triple off right fielder Pence's glove, scoring Paul Goldschmidt, who had singled.

NOTES: Diamondbacks RF J.D. Martinez (stiff neck) had played in Arizona's previous 10 games, hitting nine home runs. He will be re-evaluated Saturday. ... The Diamondbacks' franchise record for consecutive road wins is nine, set in 2002. ... Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray (206) and RHP Zack Greinke (200) are the first pair of Arizona pitchers strike out 200 or more in the same season since LHP Randy Johnson and RHP Curt Schilling in 2002. ... Giants RF Hunter Pence (back spasms) had to leave the game in the eighth inning. His back began acting up after he dove a 2B Daniel Descalso's hit in the seventh. ... Giants manager Bruce Bochy disclosed before the game that the organization has yet to decide what to do with INF Engelb Vielma, acquired off waivers on Thursday from the Minnesota Twins. The Giants cleared a spot on the 40-man roster for Vielma by transferring 1B/OF Michael Morse to the 60-day disabled list.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Arizona   San Francisco
Robbie Ray Player Jeff Samardzija
Win W/L Loss
7.0 IP 8.0
10 Strikeouts 7
6 Hits 6
1.29 ERA 3.38
Hitting
Arizona   San Francisco
Daniel Descalso Player Hunter Pence
2 Hits 2
1 RBI 1
0 HR 0
4 TB 3
.500 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Arizona 6 0 10 .188 4 8 3 0 0 1
San Francisco 6 0 8 .188 8 11 1 0 0 0