Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Your turn, Farhan.
The Giants players can take a break, at least physically, after pushing across three in the eighth to sneak a 4-1 victory over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Sunday, taking the series and closing the pre-trade deadline schedule two games under .500 and still in the playoff mix.
A sell-off is not coming for a team that is now 17-19 and has Monday off before a two-game set that starts in Colorado on Tuesday. They could use a lefty-hitting outfielder and perhaps another bullpen arm, additions rather than subtractions as the math Farhan Zaidi is looking at. They still could deal Kevin Gausman or depth pieces, but expect the front office to seek deals that would bring back talent ready to help now.
A seven-game winning streak pushed them into contention, a two-day, three-game losing streak muddied the picture, but the Giants have won two straight in their last message to Zaidi and GM Scott Harris that this club should stay intact.
They have not been able to identify a third outfielder who hits righties to complement Mike Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson, which should be on the wishlist. Of course, if Dickerson takes off like he has begun to, the need is minimized a bit.
The Giants had been waiting for him to break out, waiting for hard hits to begin getting reflected in his batting average, and the waiting is over. Dickerson slammed his fourth home run of the season in the first inning off Taylor Clarke, who also surrendered Dickerson’s first homer as a Giant last year. That would be the Giants’ only run until the eighth, when Dickerson’s RBI single was the go-ahead run. Evan Longoria followed him by knocking in two with an against-the-shift single, veterans increasingly showing they still have plenty left.
Dickerson has gone 4-for-9 over the past two days, raising his average from .195 to .221. His homer was the Giants’ only hit until the eighth, and they struck out 14 times, but they did not need much offensive support behind Johnny Cueto.
Himself a trade candidate who is now not likely to be moved, the 34-year-old was as good as he has been all year — and the season has featured his flirting with a no-hitter. An Eduardo Escobar single in the second ended any hope this time, but that would be the Diamondbacks’ only hit until the sixth.
Led by a changeup that induced seven swings and misses, Cueto was untouched until that sixth, when Arizona put two on with two outs. But pitch 97 to David Peralta was a nasty disappearing changeup that he swung through, the Giants’ 1-0 lead lasting another inning.
Gabe Kapler stayed with his shimmying star for the seventh, but a changeup to Escobar ran over the plate and then ran 393 feet away, tying the game on just the second hard hit off Cueto, who was pulled after 6 2/3 innings in which he allowed just that run on three hits and three walks with six strikeouts.
Tony Watson, Tyler Rogers and Sam Coonrod, whose stuff has been electric and recorded his first career save, were perfect in 2 1/3 innings to ensure the Giants’ big eighth stood up.
The players can exhale for a couple days. They have played their way into staying together and hope there will be help, not hurt, on the way.