Giants' Late Rally Falls Short in 5-4 Loss to Diamondbacks

· Yahoo Sports

The San Francisco Giants opened a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday in Phoenix, looking to build on the momentum from their series victory over the Atlanta Braves.

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Tyler Mahle took the mound hoping to continue that positive trend, but the Giants ultimately fell 5-4 in the opener, with Mahle taking his eighth loss of the season.

Arizona wasted no time getting on the board. Ketel Marte led off the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning to give the Diamondbacks an early 1-0 lead.

Following the homer, Mahle settled into a rhythm, tossing three consecutive scoreless innings. Although his pitch count climbed to 68 through four innings, he allowed just two hits during that stretch.

Considering his struggles to maintain clean outings throughout the season, it was an encouraging stretch despite the elevated pitch count.

The Giants answered in the top of the fifth inning. Jonah Cox laid down a sacrifice bunt that brought home the club's first run, trimming Arizona's lead.

Mahle's outing came to an end later in the fifth after running into trouble.

He opened the inning by walking Nolan Arenado before inducing a groundout from Pavin Smith. A single by Tommy Troy and another walk to Ketel Marte loaded the bases, prompting the Giants to turn to Sam Hentges.

Hentges inherited a difficult situation but was unable to escape it, allowing a bases-clearing double that extended Arizona's lead to 4-1.

After recording just one out, he was replaced by JT Brubaker. While the circumstances were certainly challenging, the damage made the Giants' comeback attempt significantly more difficult.

One could argue Mahle should have been removed earlier in the inning, but regardless of the timing, the fifth inning proved to be the turning point of the game.

Brubaker opened the sixth inning and ultimately worked 3.1 innings. He surrendered a solo home run to Arenado that pushed the Diamondbacks' lead to 5-1, but he bounced back with a cleaner seventh inning as the Giants looked for length from their bullpen.

The Giants finally generated some momentum in the eighth. With runners on second and third and one out, Casey Schmitt lifted a sacrifice fly to score a run, though San Francisco was unable to bring home another runner in the inning.

That momentum carried into the ninth.

Heliot Ramos opened the inning with a solo home run, and Drew Cavanaugh later added a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one run. Suddenly within striking distance, the Giants put pressure on Arizona, but the Diamondbacks recorded the final two outs to secure a 5-4 victory.

The Giants will continue the series Tuesday with Landen Roupp (5-7, 4.07 ERA) scheduled to start. Arizona has yet to announce its starting pitcher.

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