Ahmed, Marte go yard in D-backs' loss to Giants
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Nick Noonan helped his chances of making the Opening Day roster with three hits and a pair of RBIs as the Giants beat the D-backs, 8-6, on Wednesday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd at Salt River Fields.
Giants starter Madison Bumgarner was also sharp in his final outing before he faces the Dodgers in the second game of the regular season. The left-hander allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six over five innings.
Noonan gave Bumgarner a lead to work with in the second when he followed Andres Torres' one-out single with a triple off the wall in center. Noonan scored when Guillermo Quiroz hit a sacrifice fly to put the Giants up 2-0.
The D-backs got on the board in the bottom half of the inning when Miguel Montero, Alfredo Marte and Eric Chavez each singled to load the bases and Eric Hinske was able to beat out an infield single, scoring Montero.
Hunter Pence hit a solo homer in the third to increase the Giants' lead to 3-1 and Noonan put them up 4-1 with an RBI double in the fourth.
All four of the runs came off Arizona starter Nelson Figueroa, who is expected to start the year at Triple-A Reno.
The Giants padded their lead with a three-run fifth off reliever Heath Bell. Francisco Peguero hit a two-run homer during the inning and Brandon Belt followed with a solo shot.
Nick Ahmed homered for the D-backs leading off the bottom of the fifth, but the Giants got that run back when Quiroz doubled home Noonan, who had singled off Matt Reynolds to start the sixth.
The D-backs cut the lead to 8-4 in the sixth thanks to a two-run homer by Marte. It was the third homer of the spring and second in two days for Marte, who is trying to capture the final outfield roster spot.
Tony Campana added a two-run triple later in the inning.
Up next: The D-backs travel to Surprise on Thursday to take on the Rangers at 1:05 p.m. MST. It will be the final tuneup of the spring for Trevor Cahill, who is slated to start the season's second game next Tuesday against the Cardinals. It's the final Cactus League game of the spring for the D-backs, who will play a pair of exhibition games against the Reds at Chase Field on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.