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The surging San Francisco Giants have made the NL West a little more intriguing.

Brandon Belt and Joe Panik drove in two runs each Golden Tate III Jersey , Hunter Pence had a pinch-hit, two-run double, and the Giants completed a three-game sweep with a 9-6 victory over the division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks. It was San Francisco’s seventh win in eight games and their first sweep of the Diamondbacks since September of 2016. San Francisco moved into a second-place tie at 2 1/2 games behind Arizona for the first time since June 10.

A four-run fifth inning highlighted by Pence’s double off reliever Silvino Bracho gave the Giants an 8-3 lead. Cory Gearrin (1-1) got one out in the fourth inning to earn the win in relief of starter Derek Holland.

Afterward, manager Bruce Bochy praised the veteran Pence – who is primarily a bench player at present – for accepting his role.

”He is our spiritual leader. I know his role has changed and he has handled it so well. This is a little bit of a change for him and it is not easy,” Bochy said. ”He has a great attitude and just wants to help the club win.”

The Giants tagged starter Zack Godley (9-6) for seven runs on nine hits in four-plus innings, ending his four-game winning streak. But Holland didn’t make it out of the fourth, chased after loading the bases with an intentional walk with San Francisco leading 4-3.

The Diamondbacks couldn’t take advantage, as Belt raced well beyond the first base bag into shallow right field to throw out Christian Walker at first and end the inning.

”We feel like we are in a good rhythm,” Pence said. ”It’s part of baseball and we feel like we are working on all cylinders and that is definitely momentum.”

Holland allowed three runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Godley’s five walks were the second most he’s issued in a start this season.

”I couldn’t locate certain pitches and they took advantage of that,” Godley said. ”They’re swinging the bat really well right now, one through nine.”

Arizona rallied with two runs in the seventh on Paul Goldschmidt’s 18th home run of the season, and Jarrod Dyson became the eighth player in team history to record at least two hits, two RBIs and two stolen bases in a game.

The Diamondbacks brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth with two outs, but Will Smith struck out Jake Lamb for Smith’s second save.

”They kicked our butts. They came in here and beat us Teez Tabor Jersey , straight up,” Lamb said.

WALKER IN LEFT

Walker, normally a first baseman, started Sunday in left field for the first time in his 44-game major league career.

FREQUENT FLIER

To help provide coverage for the bullpen amid a long stretch without a day off, Arizona called up Bracho from Triple-A Reno before Sunday’s game. Pitcher Jimmy Sherfy was sent back to Reno. Bracho has been recalled five times this season.

FIRST PITCH FOR FIRST PICK

Recently drafted Phoenix Suns big man Deandre Ayton, the first overall pick in June’s NBA Draft, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Sunday’s game.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Giants: 3B Pablo Sandoval was hit by a pitch in the right elbow in the third inning and left the game before the bottom of the inning. X-rays were negative and the injury was announced as a deep bruise, with Sandoval’s status day to day. … 3B Evan Longoria is about a week away from taking some swings as he works his way back from a broken left hand, Bochy said. … RHP Jeff Samardzija’s final rehab start for Triple- A Sacramento is set for Monday and he is expected to pitch five or six innings with around 90 pitches.

Diamondbacks: INF Ketel Marte was held out after suffering a right leg cramp in Saturday’s game. Manager Torey Lovullo said he felt the team ”dodged a bullet” as far a more serious injury.

UP NEXT

Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (1-2) is set for his sixth start of the season in the series opener against the Colorado Rockies on Monday in Denver.

Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (3-0) is set to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the series opener at Chase Field on Monday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs waited and waited and waited Monday night. When the lights malfunctioned again and the forecast called for more rain, they finally said enough.

The rematch of the last two NL Championship Series was postponed by a mixture of poor weather and a limited power outage at Wrigley Field. It will be made up Tuesday afternoon as part of a day-night doubleheader.

It was sunny and hot in Chicago for most of Monday, but clouds began to roll into the area about two hours before the scheduled first pitch. An initial downpour stopped at one point and the grounds crew pulled the tarp off the field, only to put it back on after a short stretch.

There was also trouble with three banks of lights on the first-base side of the iconic 104-year-old ballpark that went on and off a couple times, in addition to some lights in the stands on the third-base side that were out when the game was called after a nearly 3-hour delay.

”It appears to be a limited power outage in the ballpark which is impacting the right-field light operation,” Cubs spokesman Julian Green said. ”Obviously can’t play baseball without a full bank of lights in the ballpark. Notwithstanding the lights Christian Jones Jersey , we’re also dealing with a pretty heavy storm system in the area, which we’re projected to get more rain here.”

Green said they don’t know the root cause of the power outage, but it appears to be in the ballpark itself and not in the surrounding neighborhood. He said the plan is to have ballpark fully operational by the start of the first game on Tuesday.

”But a lot of work needs to happen tonight to make sure we can do that,” Green said.

This is Los Angeles’ only scheduled trip to Chicago this season.

”It’s out of our control,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. ”It’s one of those times when we spent a lot of time here, but there’s nothing else we could have done.”

Kenta Maeda, Monday night’s scheduled starter for Los Angeles, will get the ball for the opener of the doubleheader. Rich Hill will come off the disabled list to start Game 2.

Hill was placed on the DL on May 20 with a blister on his left middle finger, a recurring problem for the veteran left-hander.

The Cubs employed the same plan, with Tyler Chatwood going in the opener and Mike Montgomery staying in place for the previously scheduled game. Montgomery is 2-1 with a 1.14 ERA in four starts since he was inserted into the rotation after Yu Darvish was sidelined by right triceps tendinitis.

The Dodgers are making their first appearance at Wrigley since they advanced to the World Series with an 11-1 victory over the Cubs in Game 5 of the NLCS on Oct. 19. The same teams also met in the 2016 NLCS, with Chicago advancing on its way to its first championship since 1908.

Jay Cohen can be reached at

The stat caught Chris Iannetta by complete surprise: This was only the 10th 1-0 game ever at Coors Field.

”Come on A'Shawn Robinson Jersey ,” the catcher said.

He can thank his dominant starter for the latest addition. He played a pretty big role, too.

Iannetta homered in the seventh, Tyler Anderson pitched eight stellar innings in outdueling Andrew Suarez and the Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night to sweep a three-game series.

It was the first 1-0 game at Coors Field since June 12, 2010.

Anderson (6-3) scattered two hits and tied a season high with nine strikeouts. The left-hander didn’t allow a baserunner to reach second base.

”Tyler pitched great,” Rockies manager Bud Black said.

For that, Anderson credits a slight tweak in game plans, going with more cutters than changeups.

”It was helpful because I’ve faced those guys a lot,” Anderson said. ”If they want to sit on a changeup, it kind of helps to have something to equalize that.”

And of course, Anderson wanted the ball for the ninth.

”You always want to go out and finish it,” Anderson said. ”At the same time, Wade Davis is an unbelievable pitcher.”

Davis surrendered a two-out single to Andrew McCutchen and walked Buster Posey in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Brandon Crawford hit a deep foul ball before later flying out as Davis earned his 25th save.

Suarez (3-5) pretty much matched Anderson pitch for pitch in going seven innings and scattering five hits.

”A pitcher’s duel is always fun,” Suarez said. ”I enjoyed it, just that last inning I missed that one pitch.”

Suarez elevated a slider on a full count to Iannetta, who took a few steps down the line to make sure his hooking liner remained fair.

It did. The umpiring crew took a look and confirmed Iannetta’s seventh homer of the season.

Kelby Tomlinson and Brandon Belt both singled to account for the only Giants hits off Anderson. Over the three-game series, San Francisco mustered just three runs and hit a combined .152.

”It’s a tough one, the whole series,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ”We’ve got to rebound here Nevin Lawson Jersey , get the bats going.”

This was another strong outing for Anderson, who allowed four hits and no runs over eight innings in Los Angeles against the Dodgers last Friday.

He found a way to top it.

”He was good both times. He had command of four pitches,” Iannetta said. ”He was using all four quadrants of the zone. That’s really a difference maker. When you can command pitches, it makes it tough for hitters to get in a groove.”

Colorado had something brewing in the third, when DJ LeMahieu lined a one-out double to right. Charlie Blackmon followed with a sharp single off the glove of Joe Panik, who hustled after the baseball as LeMahieu took a wide turn. LeMahieu held at third and Suarez got the next two outs to escape the jam.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rockies: RHP Bryan Shaw (strained calf) threw 25 pitches in a simulated game Wednesday. Black said the reliever will throw Friday and Sunday for Triple-A Albuquerque. ”From there, we’ll make an assessment of where Bryan is,” Black said. ”But Bryan right now feels good, his arm feels great.”

STREAKING ARENADO

Nolan Arenado leads the NL with 22 homers this season. And to think, he thought he might not even hit one out this season.

No, seriously.

”The first month-and-a-half, felt like I wasn’t going to hit any homers this year,” Arenado said. ”Now I have 22. You have to ride the wave.”

THIS & THAT

Tomlinson was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento and started at third base. … Colorado snapped a four-game skid on the Fourth of July. … Of Colorado’s three 1-0 wins on solo homers, Iannetta has the last two, according to the team. He also accomplished the feat on July 18, 2010, at Cincinnati. … The game lasted just 2 hours, 15 minutes – the shortest at Coors Field this season.

UP NEXT

Giants: Begin a four-game series against St. Louis on Thursday Taylor Decker Jersey , with Johnny Cueto (3-0, 0.84 ERA) expected to return to the mound. Cueto was placed on the disabled list May 1 – retroactive to April 29 – with inflammation in his right elbow. A few days later he visited Dr. James Andrews, who diagnosed him with a strained elbow.

Rockies: Off Thursday before playing a three-game series in Seattle. RHP German Marquez (6-8, 5.14) will throw for the Rockies on Friday, while the Mariners go with RHP Felix Hernandez (8-6, 5.11).

The Atlanta Falcons expect the retractable roof on Mercedes-Benz Stadium to be ”fully operational” for the 2018 season and next year’s Super Bowl.

Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay told The Associated Press on Wednesday he expects the team to have more open-air home games in the 2018 season.

”The roof is being worked on as we speak and yes we expect the roof to be fully operational by football season, if not well before,” McKay said.

”Fully operational means you will see us go to much more of an open configuration as we designed at the beginning. When it’s ready to go, we’ll be open depending on weather.”

Problems kept the roof closed on the $1.5 billion stadium for most of the 2017 season.

The unique roof, designed to open like a camera lens, was open only for the Falcons’ first home regular-season game against Green Bay on Sept. 17. It was closed for all other NFL and college games, including the Peach Bowl, the Southeastern Conference championship game and the national championship game.

The stadium, also home to MLS’ Atlanta United, will be host to the 2019 Super Bowl.


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