PHOENIX -- Evan Longoria had an eventful first inning on Thursday night. First, he gave San Francisco a quick lead. Then, he protected it.
In San Francisco's 8-1 win at Chase Field, Longoria hit his 11th homer of the season off D-backs ace Zack Greinke to give the Giants a 1-0 lead, his first home run since hitting a pair on May 29. The San Francisco third baseman recently returned after missing six weeks due to surgery on his fractured left hand.
"It's good to get on the board early facing the [National League] Pitcher of the Month," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Greinke's been throwing the ball so well and we battled well."
Since coming off the disabled list, Longoria has a hit in six of seven games. He is 8-for-29 (.276) with a double, triple, homer and two RBIs over that stretch.
In the bottom of the first, Longoria helped Giants ace Madison Bumgarner escape a jam unscathed. With the bases loaded and one out, Longoria robbed Steven Souza Jr. of a hit with a diving grab to his left, saving at least one run on the play.
"That diving play, it saves you," Bochy said. "A play like that, it stops a rally. That ball gets through, they get momentum going. Huge play there for us. You want the ball hit to him. There are some errors, but he's a pro, he knows where to be, he knows himself well and he's got good range, he showed that on that line drive."