. J. J. Hoover (3-1) earned the win in relief.Pablo Sandoval doubled twice and drove in two runs, and Jeff Samardzija threw three-hit ball for six innings for the Giants.Jake Lamb and A. J. Pollock followed Martinez's homer with singles. Pinch runner Kristopher Negron was thrown out at home by Joe Panik on a fielder's choice by Descalso.After an intentional walk, John Ryan Murphy reached on a fielder's choice to drive in Pollock, and Peralta drew the walk to end the game.Denard Span tripled, doubled and scored twice, and Samardzija struck out four with a walk, allowing one run.Lamb hit his 29th homer of the season in the fifth, a solo shot to right field. Lamb has 103 RBIs.Span's triple, later followed by Sandoval's first double, opened the game off Diamondbacks starter Braden Shipley. Panik, who'd walked, scored on Brandon Crawford's groundout for a 2-0 lead.Shipley lasted 3 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks.Murphy, who came into the game in the fifth at catcher, recorded his first hit as a Diamondback with a sixth-inning double.Diamondbacks relievers Anthony Banda, Jake Barrett, Andrew Chafin and Hoover held the Giants scoreless on two hits over 5 2/3 innings.CAIN CALLS IT A CAREERSan Francisco right-hander Matt Cain said he'll retire after his start at home on Saturday against San Diego.The 32-year-old Cain informed teammates of his decision in a closed meeting before the game. He pitched the first perfect game in Giants history in 2012.Cain, 3-11 this season, made his big-league debut with the Giants in 2005. He pitched in two of the Giants' three winning World Series appearances since 2010. The right-hander has a career record of 104-118 with a 3.69 ERA.The three-time All-Star is nearing the end of his contract with the Giants, who have an option for one more season.The Giants announced they will honor Cain's career at Sunday's regular season finale, which also falls on Cain's 33rd birthday.Before the bottom of the first inning, the crowd was informed of Cain's decision in a public address announcement, and Cain doffed his cap to the fans and the Diamondbacks dugout in appreciation of the gesture.SUNDAY RAY DAYLeft-hander Robbie Ray, who started and won Tuesday night's game, will start Sunday in the regular season finale at Kansas City. He is expected to be available if needed in next Wednesday's NL wild card game.Starters Zack Godley and Patrick Corbin will work out of the bullpen Friday and Saturday. Ace Zack Greinke starts the Kansas City series opener on Friday, followed by Taijuan Walker on Saturday.TRAINER'S ROOMGiants: Mac Williamson was hit in the right hand fouling off a pitch in the fourth inning, but stayed in the game until he was removed for a pinch hitter in the sixth.UP NEXTGiants: RHP Chris Stratton (3-4) makes his 10th start of the season Friday after Thursday's off-day. He faces the San Diego Padres at home.Diamondbacks: Greinke (17-6) makes his last regular season start Friday against the Royals. It's his final tune-up before the wild-card game, which he is expected to start.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
D-backs host Giants with postseason on their minds 6h ago• 4 min read PHOENIX -- The National League wild-card game is squarely in the Diamondbacks' sights, and Arizona manager Torey Lovullo and his group have begun to consider roster composition.It is not easy as it might seem.The roster for the winner-take-all, one-game playoff requires a one-game mindset, almost diametrically opposed to the way a roster is built for the regular season and altogether new to Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen, who while with the Boston Red Sox always was able to go directly to the American League Division Series.So much to consider.How many starting pitchers to carry?Is there room for a pinch runner?What if a game goes 18 innings?Does the opposing matchup require another left-hander (or two) in the bullpen?Typically, teams have played the game with 10 pitchers and 15 position players. But not always."It's confusing to me, I'm not going to lie," Lovullo said candidly. "What we are talking about and walking through right now is so new to all of us, we're throwing things around at one another trying to figure things out as a staff. It's such a new ingredient to us." Arizona (91-67) got another day closer to the wild card game with a 11-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, evening the series at a game apiece.Right-hander Braden Shipley, starting as Arizona attempts to line up Zack Greinke for the Oct. 4 wild-card game, will oppose Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija in the series finale Wednesday afternoon.Arizona has not announced a Sunday starter, in large part because of wild-card considerations.Left-handers Robbie Ray and Patrick Corbin would have enough rest to start Sunday, but the D-backs might eschew both -- or piggy-back them; they have considered those alternative and others -- in order to have another left-hander or two ready for a critical situation in the one-and-done game.Left-handers Andrew Chafin, Jorge De La Rosa and T. J. McFarland have been used out of the bullpen this season, but Ray might be the best option if a strikeout is needed.Ray is averaging 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings after getting five in five innings Tuesday, when he went five innings for his 15th victory. The shorter stint was designed to save pitches."We want to see what happens with the second wild-card team," Lovullo said. "We just want to make sure we have the exact pieces we need for (next) Wednesday's game ready to go. We don't want to expire anybody on that day. We have spent a lot of time paying attention to really, really important details." The D-backs also plan to use the final week of the regular season in an attempt to get a handle on the relief group in front of setup man Archie Bradley and closer Fernando Rodney. Bradley has a 1.38 ERA, and Rodney has 39 saves."These guys have to go out and perform," Lovullo said of his relievers. "That's the nature of this business. These guys know when they get the ball, they're going to have to go out and do their jobs." Rookie right-hander Jimmie Sherfy has made 11 consecutive scoreless appearances since being recalled from Triple-A Reno in late August. He tied a major league record by not allowing a baserunner in his first four appearances, which included his first major league victory and his first major league save.Chafin and De La Rosa appear to be locks to make the wild-card roster.Bradley threw 1 2/3 innings and was stretched out to 38 pitches Tuesday, longer than his typical outing since settling into the setup role in May."We're trying to prepare in every way that we possibly can, in every scenario that might come up, in a one-game, all-in moment," Lovullo said. "We were trying to extend Archie." Shipley is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in nine appearances (two starts) this season. His past seven appearances came out of the bullpen, and he has allowed only one run in his past 4 2/3 innings. He has made one career appearance against the Giants, in relief in 2016, when he gave up three runs in 3 2/3 innings.Samardzija is 9-15 with a 4.51 ERA this season, including 1-3, 5.13 in four starts against the Diamondbacks. He will enter his final start of the season ranked second in the National League with 201 2/3 innings, the fourth straight year he has exceeded 200. He is sixth in the league with 201 strikeouts. His career high is 214, set with the Chicago Cubs in 2013.In 16 career games (11 starts) against Arizona, Samardzija is 3-4 with a 4.32 ERA. He is coming off a rough outing Friday at Dodger Stadium, where he allowed four runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings.The Giants (62-96) need one win in their final four games to avoid the second 100-loss season in franchise history. Left-hander Matt Moore (6-15) absorbed the latest defeat, allowing eight runs (seven earned) in 1 1/3 innings Tuesday. He established a career high for defeats."This is baseball," Moore said. "It can teach you some tough lessons sometimes if you are hard-headed."
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