Corbin, D-backs quiet Giants' bats in opener

PHOENIX -- Phil Gosselin crushed a three-run homer and A.J. Pollock also homered to propel the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 6-1 triumph Monday over the San Francisco Giants.

D-backs starter Patrick Corbin (5-3) worked six scoreless innings, allowing six hits. Three of the six runners he stranded were left in scoring position. Corbin outdid his San Francisco counterpart, Mike Leake (9-8), who allowed all of Arizona's runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Video: SF@ARI: Pollock launches a solo home run to left

"[Corbin] did a great job," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "Just the growth and getting back and feeling it. He wasn't as smooth where we have seen him in some games where he has mowed through them. The Giants gave him a battle and real good at-bats. He was able to avoid real trouble."

Losers of 11 of their last 16 games, the Giants (71-67) are closer to third-place Arizona (66-72) than first-place Los Angeles in the National League West standings.

Leake is winless since the Giants acquired him shortly before the Trade Deadline, and San Francisco has won one of his five starts. But Giants manager Bruce Bochy praised Leake's strike-throwing ability, his overall stuff and his coolness through adversity. In short, he'd welcome back Leake, who's eligible for free agency after this season. "If you're asking me, yes," Bochy said.

Video: SF@ARI: Leake fields grounder, begins 1-6-3 DP

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Corbin stars on the mound: Corbin reminded the baseball world why he was once considered among the top young pitchers in the game. Corbin showed good command of his pitches Sunday, striking out six in his 12th start since Tommy John surgery in March 2014. He did not walk a batter in the 85-pitch outing. Corbin has pitched at least six innings and has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last three starts. More >

"I think the biggest thing is trying to recover and make sure the arm is feeling good for the next start," Corbin said. "Stay on top of that. It feels like I've thrown 200 innings already this year. Just being out for 16 months and now getting into it with about 60 innings this year."

Barely out of reach: David Peralta led off Arizona's second inning with a line-drive single off third baseman Matt Duffy's glove. Gosselin homered three batters later. Had Duffy been able to hold onto the ball, the inning might have unfolded differently for the Giants.

Then again, maybe not. "Mike was really good at times. He just made some mistakes," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He missed his spots more than he usually does."

Gosselin goes deep: Gosselin, who was activated from the 60-day disabled list last Monday, has had quite a week. He hit a three-run home run against the Rockies in his second game with the D-backs last Tuesday. He hit another three-run home run on Monday, this time in the second inning, to give the D-backs an early 3-0 lead. Gosselin, who was acquired on July 23 from the Braves for pitchers Bronson Arroyo and Touki Toussaint, notched a single in the fourth and eventually scored the club's fifth run for a 5-0 lead. He finished 2-for-4. More >

Video: SF@ARI: Gosselin drives three-run shot to left-center

Clutch knock missing: Once again, the Giants lacked the one big hit that has eluded them all too often in the season's second half. Duffy and Posey singled with two outs to prolong the first inning. Angel Pagan had one of his best at-bats of the season, lining a third-inning double after working the count to 3-2. Posey doubled and Byrd singled to christen the fourth. But none of those uprisings developed into a full-fledged rally. Even when the Giants finally scored in the eighth, they left two runners aboard.

QUOTABLE
We've had a good season with the way we've won games and been around .500 and we just don't want to slip out to the point where our record does not show the progress we feel we have made here. -- Hale, on the final month of the season

WALK THIS WAY, GOLDY
D-backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt set the club's single-season walk record in the fifth inning Sunday with his 101st walk of the season, breaking a tie with Luis Gonzalez, who walked 100 times in 2001.

Video: SF@ARI: Goldy picks up record-setting walk in 5th

WHAT'S NEXT
Giants: Tim Hudson will make his first start since July 26 in Tuesday's 6:40 p.m. PT encounter against Arizona at Chase Field, where he's 5-1 with a 1.59 ERA in seven career starts.

D-backs: The D-backs will send Chase Anderson to the mound Tuesday in his third career start against the Giants. Anderson is 1-0 with 2.55 ERA in his last three starts overall and 1-1 with 5.91 ERA in his previous two starts against San Francisco.

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