Big nights for Duggar, Cutch not enough for SF

Rookie hits first MLB home run; veteran outfielder homers, goes 5-for-5

August 5th, 2018

PHOENIX -- hit his first Major League homer in the fourth inning and also made a long running catch in right-center field in the sixth on Saturday, the primary takeaways -- along with right fielder 's five-hit game -- in a 9-3 loss to the D-backs.
The Giants again had trouble with the big inning, as the D-backs scored their game-determining first eight runs with two outs in the third game of a four-game series at Chase Field.
Left-hander , who had one of his best outings of the season in his June 29 appearance at Chase Field, could not find the one pitch that could stanch the D-backs' big innings, a five-run first and three-run fifth. He wound up surrendering eight runs on 10 hits and two walks in five innings.

hit a breaking ball for a two-run homer to cap the first inning, when all the runs scored with two outs. The D-backs scored five runs in the first inning off Chris Stratton in a 6-3 victory Friday, four with two outs.
Duggar and McCutchen were the lone bright spots for the Giants on a tough night when the lineup was unable to find its rhythm, despite a total of 11 hits. Duggar had two of those hits, including a solo shot in the fourth inning.
McCutchen drove in the other two of San Francisco's three runs, getting his team on the board with a solo home run in the third inning and doubling in a run in the ninth with his fifth hit of the game.

"We had men out there," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We just couldn't get one hit to keep it going."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Giants could not take advantage of some early opportunities to chip away at an early deficit.
They left runners on first and second when Duggar and starting pitcher Andrew Suarez struck out to end the second inning, left runners on first and second when Joe Panik grounded out to end the third and left runners on second and third when took a called third strike to end the fourth. All four of those outs came on offspeed pitches.

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Duggar made a remarkable running catch on Peralta's fly to deep right-center field in the sixth inning, taking the ball off his shoe tops in the very tip of his glove before securing it.
It was a 4-Star catch, according to Statcast™, with a 31 percent catch probability. Duggar had to cover 112 feet in 5.5 seconds, and he got up to a sprint speed of 30.3 feet per second (30-plus is considered elite speed).

"It was high enough, so I just put my head down and started running," Duggar said. "It was one of those balls kind of in no-man's land. You don't know how far 'Cutch' is from it. I had a beat on it, but at the same time you don't know if you are going to lay out or not.
"I kind of felt Cutch's presence at the last second and tried to avoid him and just stick my glove out and try to hold onto it. I felt it in my glove, but I felt it starting to come out so I just tried to squeeze as hard as I could and fortunately hung onto it."
HE SAID IT
"This is a young kid. He's going to have little runs where he might not be quite as sharp in some of his starts. This is part of the growing process for him to become a better pitcher." -- Bochy, on Suarez, who gave up eight runs -- all scoring with two outs -- in five innings
UP NEXT
After losing and for the season earlier last week, the Giants can hope for the return of on Sunday. He was removed Friday and did not play Saturday while being monitored for concussion symptoms. Starter has given up four earned runs in his last three starts. He'll face D-backs lefty Robbie Ray in a 1:10 p.m. PT tilt.