Giants swept by Diamondbacks as playoff chances slip away
PHOENIX — Merrill Kelly threw 6 2/3 strong innings, Corbin Carroll hit his 25th homer and stole his 50th base of the season, and the Arizona Diamondbacks won their fifth straight game by beating the San Francisco Giants 7-1 on Wednesday.
The D-backs swept the two-game series. They're one game in front of the Chicago Cubs for the second of three National League wild-card berths.
The Giants have lost five of their past six, fell to 76-76 for the season, and are 3 1/2 games back for the final playoff spot.
Kelly (12-7) gave up one run on three hits, walking two and striking out five. The veteran right-hander bounced back from a tough outing in New York last weekend, when he gave up seven runs in five innings against the Mets.
Arizona's four-run seventh put the game out of reach. Carroll and Ketel Marte led off with back-to-back homers off reliever Ryan Walker, extending Arizona's lead to 5-1. Gabriel Moreno and Emmanuel Rivera added RBI singles to push the margin to 7-1.
Moreno and Christian Walker both had three hits. Alek Thomas added an RBI double. Marte's homer was his 24th of the season.
San Francisco right-hander Logan Webb (10-13) gave up three runs on nine hits and two walks over six innings, striking out four. The 26-year-old workhorse has thrown 207 innings this season, which leads baseball.
LaMonte Wade Jr. started the game with a homer, giving the Giants a 1-0 lead. The D-backs responded in the bottom of the first when Walker's infield single brought home Carroll.
The D-backs had 14 hits while the Giants had just three.
SPEEDY AND STRONG
Carroll — one of the leading candidates for NL Rookie of the Year — stole his 49th and 50th bases on Wednesday. The second stolen base coaxed an errant throw by Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, allowing Carroll to advance to third.
Carroll is the third D-backs player to steal 50 bases, joining Tony Womack and Eric Byrnes. Womack stole 72 bases in 1999 while Byrnes had 50 in 2007.
He's also the second player in MLB history with more than 25 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season in an age-22 season or younger, joining César Cedeño, who had 25 homers and 56 stolen bases in 1973.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Giants SS Brandon Crawford (right hamstring tightness) left the game in the third inning and was replaced by Paul DeJong. ... RHPs Alex Cobb and Keaton Winn were placed on the 15-day injured list. Cobb left Tuesday's game in the third inning with a hip injury. To fill their spots, LHP Kyle Harrison and RHP Sean Hjelle were recalled from Triple-A Sacramento
UP NEXT
The Giants travel to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in a four-game series starting Thursday.
The Diamondbacks have a day off Thursday before traveling to face the New York Yankees in a three-game series starting Friday.
