Pavin Smith’s first walk-off homer at any level of baseball put a charge into the Arizona Diamondbacks in the series opener.
Now Arizona will look to keep the momentum going as it searches for its fourth straight win when it meets the San Francisco Giants again on Tuesday night in Phoenix.
Smith’s two-run, pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Diamondbacks a 4-2 victory on Monday.
Hitting the ball 424 feet over the center field fence to win a game was something Smith had imagined. He said it felt even better to actually do it.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Smith told reporters. “This is stuff you sort of dream of. You play it in your mind almost every day. If that situation comes up, you want to be able to do that.”
The pinch-hitting appearance was the eighth of the season for Smith. Though he was 2-for-6 with a walk in the other chances, he hadn’t been encouraged by his recent opportunities.
“I felt like the last couple times I pinch-hit, I’ve been a little late on fastballs, so just being able to put the foot down a little earlier and be ready for the fastball,” Smith said of the blast off Randy Rodriguez that extended San Francisco’s losing streak to a season-worst five in a row.
Arizona’s Lourdes Gurriel Jr. also went deep in the series opener, the 100th long ball of his career.
San Francisco’s Heliot Ramos went 2-for-4 with a homer on Monday. The 24-year-old outfielder has homered in back-to-back games and has four multi-hit performances in his past seven appearances.
Ramos is displaying to the team that he is ready to establish himself in the majors.
“I think he already has, really,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said after the loss. “From the minute he got here, he’s played with a lot of confidence — playing left, playing right and hitting him everywhere in the lineup from the middle to leadoff, and he continues to play with a lot of energy. He’s playing great.”
San Francisco’s Michael Conforto was activated from the injured list on Monday after recovering from a strained right hamstring, and he went 0-for-4 while batting cleanup and starting in left field. It was Conforto’s first major league game since May 11.
Giants second baseman Thairo Estrada (jammed right thumb) sat out for the third straight game. San Francisco, as expected, also placed left-hander Blake Snell (strained left groin) on the 15-day IL.
Meanwhile, Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (right meniscus tear) is slated to play for Triple-A Reno on Wednesday. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo didn’t want to put a date on the 2023 All-Star’s return to the majors but said Perdomo is “getting very, very close.”
San Francisco will start Kyle Harrison (4-2, 4.15 ERA) against Arizona’s Blake Walston (0-0, 2.16) on Tuesday in a battle of left-handers. Harrison lost to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday when he gave up four runs and a career-worst 12 hits over five innings.
Harrison has a 6.30 ERA over four starts since limiting the Colorado Rockies to four hits over seven scoreless innings on May 7.
Harrison, 22, received a no-decision against Arizona on April 20 when he gave up three runs and six hits over four innings. Gurriel went 2-for-2 with a double off him.
Walston, also 22, is set to make his second start and third career major league appearance. The start came May 26 against the Miami Marlins, and he gave up four hits in 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Walston, a 26th-round pick in 2019, made his debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 1, and he yielded two runs on three hits in 3 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
