Giants Downsized In Desert

D-backs Sweep Giants After SF'S 8 Straight

May 1, 2007 Mark Fontes

The Arizona Diamondbacks extend their winning streak to five by taking three in a row from the Giants.

Revenge may not always be sweet, but if the Arizona Diamondbacks can prove one thing, it bites...with venom. Ouch.

Finishing a six-game homestand against NL West rivals, the D-backs beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 Sunday afternoon at Chase Field in Phoenix. Solid pitching and just enough offense helped largely undo the eight game winning streak San Francisco had brought with them to the desert.

Three of those wins were against the Diamondbacks just a week earlier in the Bay Area.

"What a great series for us," claims a delighted Arizona manager Bob Melvin. "They did it to us over there, so to come back and beat them in three close games with timely hitting, good pitching performances and playing well at the end felt really good."

The game's hero was one of the NL's most efficacious this April, second baseman Orlando Hudson. With the game tied at 3 in the bottom of the 7th inning, following three straight Arizona singles, Hudson's double down the left field line scored two. Though the Giants would add a run of their own in the top of the eighth, Hudson's hit was just what was needed.

""I was just trying to put the ball in play, that's it," Hudson admits. He finished the game with three RBI's, singling in a run in the third.

"He's been huge for all us all year," adds Melvin. "When you have your big boys coming up, you need to hit with runners in scoring position, and we did today."

Pitching was another relative strength for Arizona. Returning legend Randy Johnson, despite earning a no-decision, (which he also collected in a 10-5 loss to San Diego earlier in the week), allowed only three runs, two of them earned. He struck out five batters and walked one.

"He battled about as well as you could battle," Melvin contends. "He had to come out (after six)...he was gassed."

The D-backs beat San Francisco by one run in each of the three affairs. Arizona's own winning streak is up to five. The magic all started with Stephen Drew's come-from-behind, two run homerun in the bottom of the ninth against the Padres last Wednesday.

With the 3-game sweep, the Diamondbacks spring all the way up into second place. They are just half a game behind the first place Dodgers, as they travel to L.A. for three straight with the boys in blue.

Following that stretch, the D-backs will head back to the desert for what they hope is some more delight.

The copyright of the article Giants Downsized In Desert in Baseball is owned by Mark Fontes. Permission to republish Giants Downsized In Desert in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.