PHOENIX -- One strike away from securing a vital bounceback victory, the Giants instead watched a late-inning lead evaporate into a stunning divisional loss.
Ketel Marte launched a dramatic, three-run walk-off home run into the left-field seats in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday night, lifting the Diamondbacks to a 5-3 comeback win over the Giants at Chase Field.
The sudden turn completely erased what had been a masterful recovery by the San Francisco pitching staff. Right-hander Landen Roupp provided a stabilizing performance following Monday’s 12-2 blowout, turning in six stellar innings of one-run ball to put the Giants in position to win.
For Roupp, the evening was defined by a critical mechanical reinvention. Entering Tuesday night, May had been a brutal month for the starter, who carried a 0-3 record and a 5.93 ERA across his previous three appearances. On Tuesday, however, he attacked the zone with conviction, surrendering zero walks and leaning heavily on his defense.
"I felt better," Roupp said. "The two-seam for me was a lot better. I just couldn't really put a guy out of the way, but I feel like I battled really well and got out of some big jams and then the defense was incredible. They're the reason why I pitched the way I did. So all the props to them."
That defensive support backed up the offense early on. Back-to-back solo home runs from Rafael Devers and Willy Adames in the second inning helped supply a 3-1 lead, anchoring a cushion that the San Francisco bullpen was tasked with protecting through the final three frames.
For two innings, the relief corps executed under pressure. The Giants repeatedly worked out of mounting threats with disciplined infield play. In the seventh, Keaton Winn induced a sharp 6-4-1 double play to strand two inherited runners. In the eighth, after Erik Miller walked the bases loaded with one out, Caleb Kilian entered and immediately coaxed third baseman Nolan Arenado into an inning-ending double play.
But the defensive baseline completely unraveled on a single, highly debated sequence in the ninth.
With two outs and a runner at first following an Adrian Del Castillo RBI single, the Diamondbacks put the runner in motion. As Daniel Susac came out of his crouch to fire toward second base, home plate umpire Bill Miller ruled catcher’s interference, awarding Ryan Waldschmidt first base and moving the tying run into scoring position.
The stadium replay appeared inconclusive, and a swift video challenge from the Giants dugout was ultimately upheld due to a lack of clear evidence to overturn it.
"I'm not sure," Susac said. "I was just trying to throw the guy out. Couldn't really tell if it was a foul ball that hit my glove or him. ... I also knew that if it wasn't conclusive, they're probably going to go with what they called on the field."
The sudden turn forced manager Tony Vitello into a definitive tactical choice. Noting that Kilian had reached 25 pitches navigating the previous portion of the lineup, the skipper opted to bring in left-handed reliever Matt Gage to face the switch-hitting Marte.
The matchup favored Arizona. Marte adjusted to an 84.6 mph slider over the heart of the plate, launching a three-run blast into the left-field seats to end the night.
Following the game, Vitello refused to let his reliever shoulder the burden of the loss, taking full responsibility for the pitching change.
"I made the wrong decision, cost us the game, not Gage," Vitello said. "I mean, he’s got as good of numbers as anybody on our team and he’s gotten it done for us more times than not, but obviously it’s on me."
When asked about the quick shift in momentum after the critical double plays in the seventh and eighth innings, Vitello was blunt about the outcome.
"About as [devastating] as you can imagine," Vitello said. "You know, maybe [we’ve had] one other game this year or maybe a couple of them [that have been] similar, but it was an unbelievable effort by those guys defensively, but also some guys coming in and making pitches."
In the grander scheme of the National League West race, a loss dictated by a fine margin serves as a reminder of how unforgiving a road trip can be for a depleted roster. Inside a quiet clubhouse, the focus turned away from the technicalities of the ninth and toward a necessary reset.
"Yeah, it’s pretty unfortunate," Roupp said. "But just have to move on and come out tomorrow and play better baseball."