Jordan Montgomery wins in debut, Diamondbacks get 22 hits in 17-1 win over Giants

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jordan Montgomery pitched six strong innings in his season debut, Blaze Alexander hit a grand slam and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants 17-1 on Friday night.

Ahead 2-1, Arizona used a three-run fifth to pull away, stringing together three straight two-out hits against reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell by Christian Walker, Eugenio Suárez and Randal Grichuk. Grichuk’s two-run double to left drove in Walker and Suárez to give the Diamondbacks a 5-1 lead and knock Snell out of the game.

“It was hit after hit after hit,” Alexander said. “It was really, really exciting.”

Montgomery (1-0) threw 78 pitches, giving up one run and four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. He signed a one-year, $25 million deal with the Diamondbacks last month.

“I knew my shapes were fine,” Montgomery said. “My (velocity) was a little down from where it normally is mid-season, but also that should have been my first real game in (spring training). So, I’m just happy to be out there and be able to compete and be with the team.”

The Giants were seeking their first three-game win streak of the season, but Snell (0-3) continued to struggle to begin his Giants tenure, allowing five runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. Snell has allowed 15 runs over his first three starts with San Francisco.

“They were ambushing,” Snell said. “Guys that are usually patient were swinging early, which I thought they would. It went how I thought it would go, just got to execute and have better sequences and I’ll have way better results.”

Giants manager Bob Melvin thought that Snell looked good early, but “got a little tired late.” Snell said he wasn't fatigued, but needed better sequencing and to establish the fastball more.

Jorge Soler homered in the fourth to cut the lead to 2-1. Soler’s 410-foot blast was the first home run at home for the Giants this year.

The Diamondbacks added four more runs in the seventh against Giants relievers, and Alexander's grand slam was part of a six-run eighth that made it 15-1. Arizona finished with 22 hits. Center fielder Tyler Fitzgerald pitched the ninth for the Giants, giving up two runs. The 17 runs were the most the Giants have allowed in a game since 2019.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said that the hitting was contagious and the entire lineup felt relaxed.

“I think hitting, there’s an attachment from one at-bat to the next,” Lovullo said. “Just got to keep that line moving, and our guys did a good job of that today.”

The game featured two of the top free agent starters this offseason in Snell and Montgomery, both of whom signed late with their respective clubs, leading to delayed debuts. Snell pitched in his first game for the Giants on April 8. Montgomery, who started Game 2 of the World Series last year with the Texas Rangers, didn’t sign with the Diamondbacks until two days before opening day.

The Diamondbacks designated infielder Jace Peterson for assignment before Friday’s game and called up outfielder Pavin Smith from Triple-A Reno.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Diamondbacks: Diamondbacks: RHP Ryne Nelson (right elbow contusion) was placed on the 15-day injured list after getting hit by a comebacker on Thursday. Lovullo said that the 26-year-old’s health is “too important” to fast-forward the recovery process, and Nelson will likely throw a few bullpen sessions before he returns to the rotation. ... RHP Paul Sewald (oblique) will throw another bullpen session against live hitters. ... CF Alek Thomas (hamstring) will run the bases next week.

Giants: RHP Luke Jackson (lower back strain), who began a rehab assignment with Class A San Jose on Thursday, will likely pitch one more game in San Jose before rejoining the big league club.

UP NEXT

LHP Kyle Harrison (2-1, 4.7 ERA) pitches for the Giants against Zac Gallen (3-0, 1.64 ERA) for the Diamondbacks on Saturday afternoon.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

San Francisco Giants' Jorge Soler gestures after hitting a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Randal Grichuk hits a two-run double against the San Francisco Giants during the fifth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell (7) walks off the mound past manager Bob Melvin, right, during a pitching change in the fifth inning of the team's baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in San Francisco, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno hits a two-run double against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Christian Walker (53) celebrates with Eugenio Suárez after they scored on a double by Gabriel Moreno against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, April 19, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Blaze Alexander (9) watches his grand slam in front of San Francisco Giants catcher Tom Murphy during the eighth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Jordan Montgomery wins in debut, Diamondbacks get 22 hits in 17-1 win over Giants

Jordan Montgomery wins in debut, Diamondbacks get 22 hits in 17-1 win over Giants

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jordan Montgomery works against the San Francisco Giants during the second inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

HONOLULU (AP) — Defense chiefs from the U.S., Australia, Japan and the Philippines vowed to deepen their cooperation as they gathered Thursday in Hawaii for their second-ever joint meeting amid concerns about China's operations in the South China Sea.

The meeting came after the four countries last month held their first joint naval exercises in the South China Sea, a major shipping route where Beijing has long-simmering territorial disputes with a number of Southeast Asian nations and has caused alarm with its recent assertiveness in the waters.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at a news conference after their discussion that the drills strengthened the ability of the nations to work together, build bonds among their forces and underscore their shared commitment to international law in the waterway.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said the defense chiefs talked about increasing the tempo of their defense exercises.

“Today, the meetings that we have held represent a very significant message to the region and to the world about four democracies which are committed to the global rules-based order,” Marles said at the joint news conference with his counterparts.

Austin hosted the defense chiefs at the U.S. military’s regional headquarters, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, at Camp H.M. Smith in the hills above Pearl Harbor. Earlier in the day, Austin had separate bilateral meetings with Australia and Japan followed by a trilateral meeting with Australia and Japan.

Defense chiefs from the four nations held their first meeting in Singapore last year.

The U.S. has decades-old defense treaties with all three nations.

The U.S. lays no claims to the South China Sea, but has deployed Navy ships and fighter jets in what it calls freedom of navigation operations that have challenged China’s claims to virtually the entire waterway. The U.S. says freedom of navigation and overflight in the waters is in America’s national interest.

Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the resource-rich sea. Beijing has refused to recognize a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated its expansive claims on historical grounds.

Skirmishes between Beijing and Manila in particular have flared since last year. Earlier this week, Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannons at two Philippine patrol vessels off off Scarborough Shoal, damaging both.

The repeated high-seas confrontations have sparked fears of a larger conflict that could put China and the United States on a collision course.. The U.S. has warned repeatedly that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines — its oldest treaty ally in Asia — if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

President Joe Biden's administration has said it aims to build what it calls a “latticework” of alliances in the Indo-Pacific even as the U.S. grapples with the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Beijing says the strengthening of U.S. alliances in Asia is aimed at containing China and threatens regional stability.

FILE - Japanese Defense Minster Minoru Kihara speaks during a meeting with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Washington. Austin and his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines gather in Hawaii for their second-ever meeting of defense ministers, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles speaks during a news conference at the State Department, Dec. 6, 2022, in Washington. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines gather in Hawaii for their second-ever meeting of defense ministers, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FILE - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin listens during a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense budget hearing Fiscal Year 2025 on Capitol Hill, April 17, 2024, in Washington. Austin and his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines gather in Hawaii for their second-ever meeting of defense ministers on Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/John McDonnell, File)