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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -
Dan Haren
took the mound knowing he needed to get Arizona off to a strong start in what has shaped up to be a key stretch for the NL
West-leading Diamondbacks.
Haren did his part and so did the offense.
Mark Reynolds
hit a three-run homer,
Conor Jackson
and
Chad Tracy
also connected and the D-backs gave Haren plenty of early run support in a 10-2 victory over the
San Francisco Giants
on Friday night.
''It's a very important road trip for us. Everyone knows it,'' Haren said. ''It's nice to set the tone and start off on the
right foot, and hopefully go on from here. I had a little extra Adrenalin coming out at the beginning of the game and felt
good in the bullpen, which isn't always the case.''
Stephen Drew
and
Chris Young
hit two-run doubles in Arizona's five-run second inning, when the Diamondbacks batted around against
Jonathan Sanchez
(8-6) on four hits, three of them doubles.
Chris Snyder
singled in the other run that inning and Jackson had a double.
Haren (10-5) matched his season high with nine strikeouts and didn't walk a batter in eight innings to win consecutive starts
for the first time this month. He allowed nine hits and two runs.
Arizona quickly showed why it is atop the West despite the division's poor record this year, ending the Giants' momentum after
San Francisco took three from the
Washington Nationals
for the club's first home sweep of the season.
Both clubs considered this a crucial series - and the Diamondbacks began a stretch of 10 straight division road games in impressive
fashion.
With Arizona leading 6-1, Reynolds hit the first pitch from rookie
Geno Espineli
over the wall in center for his 20th homer. Tracy followed with his sixth homer to chase Espineli, who earned his first major
league win Wednesday in his second career outing.
''To put up 10 tonight is huge for us,'' Reynolds said. ''You get guys on base and anything can happen. That's what we've
been doing. We're doing the little things.''
Arizona hit consecutive home runs for the second time this year.
Justin Upton
and Reynolds did it on May 31 at Washington.
Jose Castillo
singled in the Giants' first run in the fifth and
Fred Lewis
added an RBI single in the seventh.
''I thought we had some pretty good at-bats,'' Giants manager
Bruce Bochy
said. ''We created a couple of good opportunities. We just let the game get out of hand.''
Haren, who won his last decision after a three-start winless stretch, added a double to his cause for his seventh hit in 45
at-bats this season. Acquired by Arizona last December from Oakland, Haren made his first start in the Bay Area since the
swap.
Haren allowed two or fewer earned runs for the eighth straight start as the D-backs improved to 6-10 over their last 16 road
games.
''Danny, that's pretty much what we see every time from him,'' Arizona manager
Bob Melvin
said. ''We've had some games we really thought would give us some momentum and games we thought would take the momentum away
from us. We've got to follow it up tomorrow.''
Diamondbacks second baseman
Orlando Hudson
returned to the lineup and batted third after missing Wednesday's game with a bruised right ankle. He was hurt when hit by
a pitch Tuesday night against the
Chicago Cubs
.
Sanchez was done after 2 2-3 innings, the left-hander's shortest outing of 2008 and third shortest of his career.
''I wasn't focused,'' Sanchez said. ''After those plays, I just got frustrated and was throwing the ball - I wasn't pitching
then.''
Notes: Haren didn't give up a walk for the fifth time this year. ... Giants RHP
Keiichi Yabu
, on the DL nursing a sprained right middle finger, was scheduled to throw his first bullpen of fastballs only Saturday. ...
Giants LF
Dave Roberts
was out of the starting lineup a day after making his first start since April after recovering from left knee surgery. He
had a great catch and two hits, including the game-winning RBI. His knee is fine and Bochy said Roberts would start again
Saturday night when the Giants face 2006 NL Cy Young Award winner
Brandon Webb
. ... Melvin is moving RHP
Micah Owings
back into the rotation and putting RHP
Yusmeiro Petit
in the bullpen. Owings will start in the team's next series at San Diego. ''It was a difficult decision,'' Melvin said. ''Both
of these guys have done enough to warrant pitching in the rotation.''
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