SAN FRANCISCO -- D-backs manager Torey Lovullo wasn’t quite ready to commit to it and if there’s one thing right-hander Taylor Clarke has learned this year, it’s that nothing is guaranteed when it comes to the Major Leagues.

Clarke, though, certainly did everything he could to show that he deserves to stay in the Arizona starting rotation after he tossed 6 1/3 innings in the D-backs’ 10-4 win over the Giants on Saturday afternoon at Oracle Park.

The D-backs came into the series having lost five straight and were struggling to score runs. Two games in, they have tallied 28 runs and come away with a couple of wins.

• Box score

More than the offense, though, was the performance of Clarke, who was making his third appearance and second start in his third stint in the big leagues this year.

When the D-backs needed an extra arm in the bullpen in April, they called up Clarke, who debuted with three scoreless innings in Wrigley Field to earn a save.

Following the game, he was called into Lovullo’s office and told he was headed back to Triple-A Reno because the team had acquired Blake Swihart from the Red Sox.

Three weeks after that, the D-backs demoted Zack Godley to the bullpen and called up Clarke to start against the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Clarke got the loss but allowed just two runs in six innings. It looked like he would stay in the rotation, but the next day the D-backs played 13 innings, so after the team flew home that night, he was told that he was headed back to Reno.

“So I’m going for three days this time,” Clarke joked after Sunday’s game. “I went one, two. If I make it to the third [day] I’ll feel pretty good.”

Clarke (1-1) cruised through the first six innings Saturday, allowing one run.

In the seventh, though, he seemed to tire as he retired just one hitter in the frame before being lifted in favor of Andrew Chafin as the Giants ended up scoring three in the inning, two of which were charged to Clarke.

“It was a really, really strong outing because he didn’t have his best secondary stuff and you would have never known it,” Lovullo said.

While Lovullo’s tone certainly seemed to indicate Clarke was going to stay in the rotation, the manager typically likes to have conversations with his coaches and the player involved before making proclamations.

“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but I think we’ll sit down as a staff here and walk through some different thoughts,” Lovullo said. “He threw the ball extremely well today. Obviously, you know what I lean towards. I think he did a good job to get strong consideration.”

For his part, Clarke is not looking for any guarantees. Nor is he looking to bask in the glow of Sunday’s outing.

“Just take it one day at a time,” Clarke said. “It’s good to feel confident and all of that and keep it rolling, but you never really want to get too complacent. So, it’s just one of those things where it happened, enjoy it today and then kind of like start preparing for the next start. You don’t want to start getting ahead of yourself or this game will humble you pretty quick.”

First one

Kevin Cron, called up from Reno on Friday, got his first big league start Saturday at first base and notched his first career hit in the fifth inning with a double to left, which drove home Adam Jones from second.

“It felt good, especially in the situation with Jonesie leading off the inning with a double,” Cron said. “They brought me here to produce runs, so that was a big situation for us to keep building on that lead for Clarkie.”