Diamondbacks at Giants
The San Francisco Giants’ search for a regular left fielder may have finally ended with the arrival of Alex Dickerson, who has reached base safely in each of his first eight games with the team. Dickerson looks to extend the streak Saturday when the Giants continue their four-game series against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
Buster Posey broke out of a 2-for-28 slump with three hits in Friday’s 6-3 victory while Dickerson went 2-for-4 with a solo homer as the Giants improved to 17-24 at Oracle Park. San Francisco had dropped five in a row at home against Arizona before collecting 12 hits in Friday’s victory – including three by shortstop Brandon Crawford, who has struggled much of the season but is batting .349 with nine doubles and eight RBIs over his past 12 games. Arizona lost for the eighth time in its last 12 games despite three hits apiece from Carson Kelly and Jerrod Dyson. Kelly is batting .354 with four homers and 10 RBIs over his last 14 starts for the Diamondbacks, who were 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position in Friday’s loss.
TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, FS Arizona, NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Zack Greinke (8-3, 3.08 ERA) vs. Giants LH Drew Pomeranz (2-8, 6.79)
Greinke received a no-decision last Monday after allowing four runs on seven hits over six innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The five-time All-Star owns a 15 1/3-inning road scoreless streak and has gone 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA in his last three starts away from Chase Field. Brandon Belt is 9-for-34 with two home runs against Greinke, who was 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in two starts versus San Francisco last season and is 5-0 with a 1.37 ERA in seven career starts at Oracle Park.
Pomeranz matched a career high with 11 strikeouts and allowed two runs over five innings in last Monday’s 2-0 loss to Colorado. The outing marked a step forward for the 30-year-old native of Tennessee, who was briefly removed from the rotation after posting a 19.16 ERA in four starts last month. Pomeranz is 0-4 with an 8.53 ERA in 10 career appearances (seven starts) versus Arizona - including 0-1 with an 8.59 mark in two starts this season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Arizona 2B Ketel Marte went 0-for-5 on Friday, snapping his 10-game hitting streak.
2. San Francisco has been outscored 75-21 in the first inning this season.
3. Arizona activated C Alex Avila from the 10-day injured list and optioned fellow catcher Caleb Joseph to Triple-A Reno.