D-backs hustle for 1st sweep of Giants since 2019

PHOENIX -- D-backs manager Torey Lovullo was sitting in the Chase Field interview room explaining how his team beat the Giants, 5-3, on Wednesday afternoon, when all of a sudden, the lights went out.

A case could be made that it was the only thing that didn't go the D-backs’ way during the whole three-game series as Arizona completed its first sweep of San Francisco since 2019 and its first at home since ‘17.

"This one was meaningful to the guys," starter Zac Gallen said. "I know they wanted to kind of put a stamp on this series here, an exclamation point."

The contrast in the series was somewhat stunning. For three days, the D-backs ran the bases aggressively, covered lots of ground in the field, bunted for base hits and looked like a youthful, energetic team.

Meanwhile, the Giants looked old, slow and not at all sharp defensively.

Since the start of the second half, the D-backs are 5-1, and if you go back to the final game before the break against the Padres in San Diego, they have won six of their past seven games.

"They've been playing with a sense of urgency, a sense of controlled urgency," Lovullo said of his team. "We talked about balancing out that urgency, because there's times where we walk up to the plate with an overly urgent mindset and we make some mistakes. There's got to be an execution and a focus for nine solid innings, and I think that's been the big thing for me."

The D-backs’ three-run rally in the seventh inning of the series finale perfectly encapsulated the energy and athleticism that the club has been playing with.

With the game tied at 2, Jake McCarthy, who was recently called up from Triple-A Reno, dropped down a bunt for a base hit and then he aggressively went from first to third on Sergio Alcántara's ground-ball single to center. Alcántara, meanwhile, went from first to second on an errant throw to try to nab McCarthy at third.

D-backs catcher Jose Herrera followed with a safety squeeze bunt to score McCarthy from third, and when first baseman Brandon Belt's throw home sailed over catcher Austin Wynns, Alcántara scored from second base as well.

"Just get on any way possible," McCarthy said of his decision to bunt. "And I saw [third baseman Tommy] La Stella a little back. It wasn't the best bunt, but it was enough to make them have to make a play and I just beat the throw.

“In these close games, just getting on base -- whether it's a walk or just putting the ball in play to make them make a play instead of striking out -- is always better than just walking back to the dugout."

Lovullo refers to things like that as winning the margins, and it's something the D-backs did not do a good job of in the first half when they went 40-52 before the break.

"[The sweep] was a product of some hard work, a lot of preparation, and we need to continue doing that," Lovullo said. "We can't rest on anything. This team has got to win the margins. This team has got to go out and execute at a very high level. When we do right, good things happen. If we don't, we drop balls and they score runs. We've been working hard to make this little run happen."

While the recent run likely doesn't change the D-backs’ trajectory for the season or their approach leading up to Tuesday’s 2 p.m. MST Trade Deadline -- they still are just 45-53 -- it does give a glimpse of what's to come as they continue to promote prospects from their highly-ranked farm system. They are a young, energetic team that can win games in a number of different ways.

"I feel like we're really starting to find our identity, playing as a team, really working together," third baseman Josh Rojas said. "You know, using our speed or athleticism."