Evan Longoria homers twice, propelling Giants past D-backs

Evan Longoria bombed three- and two-run home runs in his first two at-bats and the San Francisco Giants closed out September with a 10-4 shellacking of the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks in the opener of a three-game series Friday night. Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Wynns also homered for the Giants (79-78), who despite a fifth straight win were formally eliminated from the National League wild-card race when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals earlier in the day. After falling behind 1-0 on a Christian Walker RBI single in the top of the first, the Giants needed just four batters to draw even on a Yastrzemski RBI double and one more to take the lead for good at 4-1 on Longoria's three-run blast off Arizona starter Merrill Kelly (13-8). The advantage grew to 5-1 when Joc Pederson led off the second with a triple, on which a throwing error by Josh Rojas allowed him to scamper home. Four batters later, Longoria did it again, this time smacking a two-run shot that was his 14th of the season and gave him his second two-homer game of the year. The first came against the New York Mets in May. Up 7-1, Giants starter Alex Cobb (7-7) coasted through five innings, during which he allowed four runs and nine hits. He walked one and struck out five. The Diamondbacks closed within 7-3 and 8-4, but the Giants wasted little time tacking on both times, with solo shots by Yastrzemski, his 16th, and Wynns, his third, accounting for two of the three runs. Kelly, who had been 3-0 against the Giants this season, was pulled after 4 2/3 innings, charged with eight runs and nine hits. He walked two and struck out two. Arizona's final three runs were the result of RBI singles by Emmanuel Rivera and Rojas, and a sacrifice fly by Geraldo Perdomo. Longoria finished with two hits, two runs and five RBIs for the Giants, while Yastrzemski had two hits, three runs and two RBIs. Pederson got on base four times via a double, triple and two walks, scoring three times, while Wynns went 2-for-4. In losing for the 10th time in their last 14 games, the Diamondbacks were out-hit just 12-11, with Jake McCarthy collecting three hits, while Rojas and Carson Kelly had two hits apiece. The loss assured the Diamondbacks (72-85) will finish fourth in the National League West, between the third-place Giants and last-place Colorado Rockies. --Field Level Media