After stranding runners in scoring position the previous two innings, when the Giants rallied in the eighth inning Sunday against the Diamondbacks, manager Gabe Kapler turned to his bench.
The first man off the bench, Mike Yastrzemski, walked, loading the bases.
Evan Longoria, their next pinch-hitter, followed by ripping a double into left field.
The double broke the Giants’ scoring drought, driving in two, but it took an add-on shot from J.D. Davis in the ninth inning to pull out a 3-2 win over the D-backs, after Arizona clawed back for one run against Camilo Doval in the ninth inning.
The Giants put runners on in every inning, but it took until the eighth to break through.
Davis’ ninth-inning solo shot landed in the pool beyond right field, his fourth hit of the game.
Between Doval recording the final three outs and a pair of openers — lefties Scott Alexander and Jarlín García — recording the first five, Jakob Junis limited Arizona to one run on five hits while striking out seven over 5⅓ innings.
With Davis’ big day, Longoria’s clutch hit and another shutdown showing from their bullpen, the Giants finished their penultimate road trip of the season 6-1, taking two of three in Arizona after a four-game sweep in Colorado.
The Giants’ bullpen, including Junis’ bulk work on Sunday, covered 44 of the 63 innings on the trip — 70% of the workload — and limited the D-backs and Rockies to six runs (five earned), a 1.02 ERA.
Longoria was pinch-hitting for Ford Proctor, who made his major-league debut Saturday and picked up his first major-league hit with a line-drive single to left field that kicked off a bases-loaded rally in the seventh inning.
However, he was left on third base when Davis lined out to end the inning.
Davis, who had hits in all his other four at-bats, didn’t get cheated. He attacked the first pitch, and the line drive left his bat at 104.6 mph, with an expected batting average of .770. However, it was lined directly at shortstop Sergio Alcantara.
Longoria’s pinch-hit double was the Giants’ second hit in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position; they left 12 men on base.
Davis also doubled twice — his seventh and eighth with San Francisco, with six home runs — but, like Proctor, he was stranded on base each time.
In 41 games with the Giants, Davis is batting .271 with an .885 OPS.
Nearing the end of his second month with San Francisco, Davis has already exceeded home run total in four months with the New York Mets; after a three-hit effort Sunday, he equaled his number of doubles, too.
Improving to 14-10 in September, the Giants clinched their first month without a losing record since June.
They return home for the final six games of the season at Oracle Park, beginning Tuesday against Colorado, before wrapping up the schedule with three games in San Diego.
