SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Just when it appeared as if the San Francisco bullpen was going to escape another late-inning jam, Pablo Sandoval threw the ball away to help cost the Giants the game.
Sandoval’s throwing error allowed the tying run to score in the eighth inning and the Giants lost their first series of the year when Tony Campana hit an RBI single with two outs in the 10th inning to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 6-5 victory Thursday night.
The Giants overcame a 4-1 deficit and led 5-4 with runners on first and second and two outs in the eighth inning when Campana hit a slow grounder to Sandoval at third base. Sandoval rushed the throw and it sailed over first baseman Brandon Belt’s head to allow Gerardo Parra to score the tying run from second.
“You have to keep your poise,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He got in a rush mode there. With the game on the line, you have to be a bit more cautious. You have to know the situation.”
That was just the most glaring mistake on a night of blown opportunities for both teams. The Diamondbacks failed to get the tying runs in despite putting a runner on third with one out in the sixth and loading the bases with no outs in the seventh.
The Giants also came up short after loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth, with Belt hitting a shallow popup and Sandoval flying out to deep right field.
That all led to San Francisco losing its first home series since last August against Boston.
“Our pen did a great job,” Bochy said. “They made the pitches time after time. We had the error and we left the bases loaded when we weren’t able to get any of them in.”
Campana had a career-high four hits and drove in Cliff Pennington with the winning run. Pennington added three hits and two RBIs as the Diamondbacks got big performances from two players making their second starts of the season.
“It’s just us being ready,” Campana said. “We both kind of kept our routine the same. You kind of come in every day ready to play. Today we got the start and both did a pretty good job at the plate and got the win.”
Miguel Montero also drove in two runs for the Diamondbacks, who won the final two games of the series.
Pennington started the winning rally with a one-out single off Yusmeiro Petit (0-1) in the 10th and then stole second base on a 2-2 pitch to Campana with two outs.
Campana then blooped a single just over the outstretched glove of second baseman Brandon Hicks to score the go-ahead run.
J.J. Putz (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win and Addison Reed got three outs for his third save in as many chances.
The Diamondbacks jumped on top early against Ryan Vogelsong with a two-run single by Pennington in the second inning and a two-run double by Montero in the third to take a 4-1 lead.
Vogelsong settled down after that and lasted five-plus innings.
“It was better but still not where I want to be,” he said. “I felt better the last couple of innings, but not as crisp as I’d really like.”
The Giants’ hitters chipped away after the early deficit, getting a run in the third on the first bunt single of Buster Posey’s career when he surprised Arizona with a two-out bunt with Angel Pagan on third.
Back-to-back doubles by Morse and Crawford to open the fourth made it 4-3 and Morse’s double off Will Harris in the fifth gave the Giants the lead.
NOTES: Giants prospect Darren Ford suffered a concussion and multiple cuts after running into a wall in a minor league game for Triple-A Fresno in Salt Lake City. … The Giants held a pregame ceremony honoring their former home, Candlestick Park, which is set to be torn down later this year. … Madison Bumgarner (1-0) takes the mound for the Giants on Friday when they open a series Jorge De La Rosa (0-1) and the Colorado Rockies.
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