One of the reasons the San Francisco Giants have liked Christian Koss so much is his baseball savvy. Against one of the team's top 2026 tormentors, the Diamondbacks, Koss' baserunning helped fuel a rare win against Arizona.
Hit by a pitch in the fifth, Koss dashed from first to third on Nate Furman's sacrifice bunt, realizing third baseman Jose Fernandez hadn't retreated fast enough to the bag. That set up Drew Gilbert's sacrifice fly to take a 2-1 lead, helping starter Landen Roupp snap his five-game losing streak. The Giants are now 2-8 against the Diamondbacks this season.
Jung Hoo Lee hasn't started two games in a row because of a bruised right elbow, but he pinch hit in the eighth Thursday and drew a 10-pitch walk. He scored on Bryce Eldridge's double and rookie outfielders Jonah Cox and Turner Hill provided RBI singles that inning, while third baseman Shay Whitcomb sent Cox in with a safety-squeeze bunt.
With Willy Adames likely out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury, Koss has started 27 of the past 28 games and has a plus-2 outs above average (OAA), an advanced Statcast metric. Adames, who has played through back issues this season, had a minus-17, tied for worst in the majors.
The Giants have Marcelo Mayer, acquired from Boston at the deadline, waiting in the wings. When he's ready to come off the injured list - he expects to be out of a walking boot for a bruised foot soon - Koss is likely to shift back to third, where he has also played well.
Giants 6, Diamondbacks 1
ArizonaABRHBIBBSOAvg.Totals3216136Nootbaar dh401000.218Carroll rf400001.247Moreno c311110.303Perdomo ss302011.254Kepler lf401000.213Tawa 1b300012.242Fernandez 3b401000.265Vargas 2b400001.254Waldschmidt cf300001.271San FranciscoABRHBIBBSOAvg.Totals2867626Gilbert rf311200.243Devers 1b412000.248Eldridge dh411102.252Cox cf312110.278Hill lf401100.308Whitcomb 3b300101.135Cavanaugh c400001.240Koss ss210002.207Furman 2b100000.077a-Lee ph010010.289Basabe 2b000000.222Arizona000100000_160San Francisco10001004x_670a-walked for Furman in the 8th.
LOB: Arizona 7, San Francisco 4. 2B: Eldridge (16). HR: Moreno (11), off Roupp; Gilbert (8), off Cabrera. RBIs: Moreno (66), Gilbert 2 (36), Eldridge (36), Cox (7), Hill (4), Whitcomb (8). SB: Perdomo (18), Cox (5). CS: Moreno (2). SF: Gilbert. S: Furman, Whitcomb.
Runners left in scoring position: Arizona 4 (Vargas, Fernandez, Waldschmidt 2); San Francisco 3 (Whitcomb, Cavanaugh 2). RISP: Arizona 1 for 8; San Francisco 3 for 8.
Runners moved up_Kepler.
ArizonaIPHRERBBSONPERACabrera, L, 0-341-332214705.32Clarke12-300001182.54Loáisiga10000192.53Ginkel1-344410254.39Burgos2-30000032.08San FranciscoIPHRERBBSONPERARoupp, W, 8-13541123954.25Harris, H, 2200002234.50Seymour, H, 4100010194.91Walker120001196.60Inherited runners-scored: Clarke 1-1, Burgos 2-1. HBP: Cabrera (Koss).
ABS Challenge: Cabrera (Ball-Confirmed); Perdomo (Strike-Overturned to Ball).
Umpires: Home, Alex MacKay; First, Alan Porter; Second, Jim Wolf; Third, Roberto Ortiz.
T: 2:33. A: 40,120 (41,915).
Gilbert has gotten onto a tear and he's looking comfortable in the leadoff spot, going 10-for-24 three homers in eight games including Thursday's home run to right-center in the first inning. Gilbert has also improved defensively after a bit of a slow start; he's now at a plus-3 OAA and his arm and range are both in the top 20%.
With little else at stake, the Giants are gauging how all of their young players and bench guys might fit in next year. Gilbert played for manager Tony Vitello at Tennessee, and has done nothing but solidify his standing. Koss, Cox and Hill have also made good impressions.
Roupp, now the team's No. 2 starter, has had his wobbles, but Thursday, he allowed only one run, a homer by catcher Gabriel Moreno, who clouted a changeup on the ninth pitch of his at-bat in the fourth. Roupp went five innings but he walked only two batters after he'd walked 19 over his previous five starts and had a 6.20 ERA in that stretch.
Rookie reliever Trent Harris also helped his cause after he worked two scoreless innings, adding to his allowing just one run in his past six outings while striking out 12 in 8 ⅓ innings. Carson Seymour is also getting more looks out of the bullpen; his scoreless inning Thursday means he's allowed just one run over his past 9 ⅓ innings.
SubscribeThere’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Giants still standing show their mettle taking down D'backs in 6-1 win.
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