PHOENIX – Distracted by the Jason Grimsley fiasco, the Arizona Diamondbacks had lost seven straight games.
They hadn't led in 56 innings and had fallen out of first place in the NL West.
Arizona needed a lift. And Enrique Gonzalez, a rookie making his third big league start, provided it. He allowed one hit over seven dominating innings as Arizona beat San Francisco 2-1 last night.
“Slider, change-up, everything was good,” the 23-year-old Venezuelan said. “I concentrated because we needed a win.”
Now it's the Giants who need a lift despite getting Barry Bonds back for the first time in five games. He had been sidelined with an abdominal strain in his left side. Bonds went hitless in three at-bats as San Francisco dropped its fourth straight game.
Gonzalez outpitched San Francisco starter Jamey Wright (5-6), who allowed two runs in seven innings.
“I'm probably going to win more of those than I lose,” Wright said. “Just give the other guy credit. He was nails out there. He got into a rhythm and we couldn't figure him out.”
The Diamondbacks needed a strong outing from Gonzalez on the day they designated starting pitcher Russ Ortiz for assignment.
Arizona hopes Gonzalez can fill Ortiz's slot.
Gonzalez has spent his career with the Diamondbacks, who signed him as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela at the end of the franchise's 1998 debut season.
San Francisco seemed overmatched against Gonzalez, who consistently stayed ahead of hitters, throwing 55 of his 100 pitches for strikes.
Omar Vizquel's first-inning single was the Giants' only hit off Gonzalez. Vizquel was erased on Ray Durham's double-play grounder.
After Vizquel's hit, Gonzalez (2-0) retired 18 men in a row before issuing back-to-back walks to Durham and Bonds with two out in the seventh. Gonzalez got Moises Alou to ground to third to end the threat.
“He kept the ball down, very aggressive, a presence on the mound,” Giants manager Felipe Alou said.
| San Francisco |
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
BB |
SO |
Avg. |
|
| Winn cf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.272 |
|
| Vizquel ss |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
.307 |
|
| Durham 2b |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.241 |
|
| Bonds lf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.244 |
|
| Alou rf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.346 |
|
| Feliz 3b |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
.271 |
|
| Ishikawa 1b |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.400 |
|
| Alfonzo c |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.269 |
|
| Wright p |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.219 |
|
| b-MaSweeney ph |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.235 |
|
| Totals |
29 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
|
|
| Arizona |
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
BB |
SO |
Avg. |
|
| Counsell ss |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.284 |
|
| Byrnes cf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.296 |
|
| Tracy 3b |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
.280 |
|
| LGonzalez lf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.261 |
|
| CJackson 1b |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.280 |
|
| ShGreen rf |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.314 |
|
| JEstrada c |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.314 |
|
| OHudson 2b |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
.254 |
|
| a-TClark ph-1b |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.188 |
|
| Totals |
25 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
| San Francisco |
000 000 010– 1 |
3 |
0 |
|
| Arizona |
100 010 00x– 2 |
6 |
0 |
|
| |
a-grounded out for En.Gonzalez in the 7th. b-flied out for Wright in the 8th.
LOB–San Francisco 3, Arizona 4. 2B– Byrnes (15). 3B–ShGreen (3). HR–Alfonzo (2), off LVizcaino; Tracy (11), off Wright. RBIs–Alfonzo (5), Tracy (36), JEstrada (37). CS–Byrnes (1). S–EGonzalez 2. SF–JEstrada. GIDP–Durham, ShGreen.
RLISP–San Francisco 1 (Alou); Arizona 3 (Counsell, Byrnes, TClark).
DP–San Francisco 1, Arizona 1.
|
| San Francisco |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
NP |
ERA |
|
| Wright L, 5-6 |
7 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
84 |
4.48 |
|
| Kline |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
2.21 |
|
| Arizona |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
NP |
ERA |
|
| EGnzlz W, 2-0 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
100 |
1.64 |
|
| LVizcaino H, 14 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
14 |
2.59 |
|
| Julio S, 4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
17 |
3.86 |
|
| |
Umpires–Home, T.Hallion; First, G.Darling; Second, L.Poncino; Third, B.Dreckman.
T–2:10. A (Tickets sold)–25,595 (49,033).
