Behind Belt's blast, Giants end skid
PHOENIX -- Brandon Belt homered Monday for the second time in three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks this season, but he sounded more pleased to help the San Francisco Giants break their five-game losing streak.
"It's been a tough stretch for us here lately, but I think our attitude didn't really change coming into this game," Belt said after the Giants' 6-4 victory at Chase Field. "We knew we had the team to come out here and win, and that's what we did."
Belt homered, singled and drove in three runs. His two-out, two-run single off Brad Ziegler in the top of the eighth inning broke a 4-4 tie.
The 25-year-old first baseman hit .170 (9-for-53) with no homers through his first 14 games. He's batting .379 (11-for-29) with two homers in his past 10 games.
"I'm seeing the ball a lot better, and I'm having a lot better approach at the plate," Belt said. "I'm just looking for a good pitch, and fortunately I got a couple tonight."
Rookie third baseman Nick Noonan led off the eighth with his first career double, and Ziegler (1-1) issued two-out walks to Gregor Blanco and Brandon Crawford to bring up Belt, who hit a 3-1 pitch up the middle.
"Maybe just a little bit of a lack of aggression," Ziegler said. "Trying to make the pitches too good on the edge and not attacking enough and making them put the ball in play and kind of forcing the issue."
Ziegler pitched the eighth inning because setup man Heath Bell and closer J.J. Putz were unavailable due to a heavy recent workload.
"'Z,' it was uncharacteristic with him," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "We made the decision we would go with him in the eighth inning. It just didn't work out."
Jason Kubel, Eric Chavez and Martin Prado homered five batters apart in the fourth inning to give Arizona a 4-3 lead against Matt Cain. The Giants starter has given up nine homers in his past four starts, and he's 0-2 with a 6.49 ERA in his first six starts this year.
"It is a little weird," Cain said. "Sometimes it seems like some of the ones they are hitting ... all of the hits are homers. Do you really understand it? No. It's kind of, 'That's way it is,' and you get over it."
Pablo Sandoval's RBI single tied the game at 4 in the fifth. Sandoval, a career .353 hitter at Chase Field, was replaced by Noonan in the bottom of the sixth with what the Giants called right elbow discomfort.
San Francisco right-hander Jean Machi (1-0) got his first major league victory. Sergio Romo pitched the ninth for his save.
Marco Scutaro had three hits and Sandoval two.
Arizona right-hander Ian Kennedy pitched the first seven innings but was not involved in the decision, his second such start against the Giants in six days. He is 6-2 against them in his career.
"Much-needed win," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who was ejected in the fifth inning for arguing a bang-bang double-play call at first base.
"The guys battled off a guy who has been very tough. You have a lead and they come back and take a lead, that can be deflating. They kept grinding. It is good to break this streak we were in."
Prado had two hits in his return to the lineup. He got his first day off of the season Sunday while fighting a 5-for-39 (.128) slide.
Arizona had won five of its previous six.
NOTES: Bochy's ejection was his first of the season, the 58th of his career. Bench coach Ron Wotus and pitching Dave Righetti managed the final 4 1/2 innings. ... San Francisco placed left-hander Jose Mijares on the bereavement list after the passing of his grandmother, who suffered a heart attack in Venezuela on Sunday. The Giants promoted right-hander Sandy Rosario from Triple-A Fresno. ... Arizona left-hander Patrick Corbin is one of three pitchers in the major leagues to have allowed two or fewer runs in six or more innings in all five starts this season. Boston's Clay Buchholz and the Chicago Cubs' Travis Wood are the others. Corbin is 3-0 with a 1.91 ERA after a 4-2 victory over Colorado on Sunday. ... Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner (3-0, 1.87 ERA) faces Diamondbacks right-hander Trevor Cahill (1-3, 3.00 ERA) on Tuesday.
