Diamondbacks’ trip to San Francisco begins with loss: By The Numbers

Despite having a day off Monday, the Arizona Diamondbacks didn’t come out against the San Francisco Giants with a lot of spark in the first of a three-game series.

At AT&T Park, Giants starter Yusmeiro Petit pitched nine full innings of one-run ball Tuesday, holding Arizona to just four hits.

Conversely, Diamondbacks starter Wade Miley lasted just two innings after walking four and giving up three earned runs.

The Giants didn’t need much offense with Arizona’s tepid night at the plate, but the home team chipped its way to a handful of runs, taking the series opener 5-1.

Arizona fell to 59-85 after suffering its fourth-straight loss, while San Francisco moved to 79-65 (2.5 games back of the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers).

Here’s a look at Tuesday’s contest by the numbers:

.5

Thanks to a Colorado loss to the New York Mets on Tuesday, the Diamondbacks stayed a half-game ahead of the Rockies for fourth place in the NL West — meaning a D-backs loss and a Rockies win Wednesday could put Arizona in the division’s cellar.

2

Miley’s two innings pitched was by far his shortest start of the season, with the previous low being a four-inning outing against Cleveland on June 24 — in which the Diamondbacks won 9-8. The left-hander allowed five hits and struck out one in his short time Tuesday, with his ERA jumping from 4.18 to 4.28 and his record dropping to 7-11.

3

In addition to losing its fourth-straight game, Arizona lost its third series opener in a row. Since the All-Star break, the Diamondbacks are 6-10 in series openers.

4 (part I)

24-year-old right-hander Zeke Spruill got four innings of action out of the bullpen thanks to Miley’s short appearance. Spruill struck out four in 65 pitches, but did allow two runs (one earned) on five hits.

4 (part II)

Outfielder A.J. Pollock has only made five appearances since returning from a hand injury, and he’s hit safely in the last four. In three at-bats Tuesday, the 26-year-old got one of the Diamondbacks’ only four hits — a first-inning single to center. Pollock is hitting a club-high .321.

9

Petit’s other three appearances against Arizona this season were all out of the bullpen, and most of them weren’t as successful as Tuesday’s outing. Take, for example, the six hits and three earned runs he gave up in two innings back on March 31.

This time around, however, he struck out nine while surrendering just one run in his first complete game of the season. His last complete game was almost exactly a year ago, also against Arizona. In that Sept. 6, 2013 game, he kept the Diamondbacks scoreless and allowed just one hit in a 3-0 Giants win.

22

Diamondbacks rookie Ender Inciarte had the game’s only extra-base hit, a fourth-inning homer that proved to be the team’s only run and RBI Tuesday. The outfielder’s blast to right gave him 22 RBI on the season, which is seventh among active Diamondbacks. The leadoff man was 1-for-4 against San Francisco with two strikeouts, ending the game with a .263 batting average.