Escobar has starring role in duel with Giants

SAN FRANCISCO -- Maybe Ketel Marte will have some company in Cleveland.

When reserves for the July 9 All-Star Game are named Sunday, don’t be surprised if D-backs third baseman Eduardo Escobar is added to the National League squad.

Escobar is an expert in the art of driving in runs, as he has proven all season -- including Saturday, when he snapped a scoreless tie with a seventh-inning RBI single that helped the D-backs outlast the San Francisco Giants, 4-3.

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Escobar stroked three singles and collected his 64th RBI, maintaining his ranking among the league’s top 10 in that category. Colorado’s Nolan Arenado is the NL’s only third baseman with more. Escobar’s other credentials include a .291 batting average and 18 homers, giving him a decent chance to experience the Midsummer Classic with Marte, his D-backs teammate who’s also the NL’s starting All-Star second baseman.

“I feel very strongly that he should be strongly, strongly considered,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said of Escobar. “What he’s done for this team as far as being a leader isn’t measured. I know they measure things in numbers. It’s a no-brainer for me. He’s done it all year long. He plays great defense and he’s been a catalyst for this ballclub.”

Hitters such as Escobar resort to any means necessary to deliver a run. It’s situational hitting, to use a simple, familiar term. If a grounder to the right side with less than two outs can send home a run, that’s what an adept run producer will try to execute. If a ball needs to be driven to the outfield, he’ll adjust his swing to find the launch angle that will get the job done.

D-backs center fielder Adam Jones, who played against Escobar when both were American Leaguers, referred to 2017. That’s when Escobar, who never had hit more than 12 homers in a season, suddenly amassed 21 homers and 73 RBIs for the Twins.

“The last 2 1/2 years, something clicked and he just drives the ball,” Jones said. “He gets extra-base hits. With men in scoring position, he gets them in -- he just shortens up and puts the ball in play.”

Escobar did his job in the seventh inning, guiding a two-out single off Giants right-hander Sam Dyson to score Jones.

Arizona added three eighth-inning runs, two of them coming on Ildemaro Vargas’ two-run single. That outburst proved essential when San Francisco’s Stephen Vogt launched a three-run homer off Greg Holland in the ninth.

Pitching controlled most of this contest. Arizona’s Zack Greinke (9-3) maintained his usual dominance against the Giants, silencing them on five hits through seven innings. He improved his career record against San Francisco to 13-3 with a 2.22 ERA in 20 appearances.

“I left very [few] pitches down the middle,” Greinke said. “Changeups, curves, sliders -- I threw a little bit of everything today.”

Giants starter Drew Pomeranz exhausted his pitch limit in five innings but was effective while he lasted, blanking Arizona on five hits.