D-Backs grab lead but Giants quickly tie it

Follow Nick Piecoro’s updates from San Francisco as the Diamondbacks take on the Giants.

D-Backs, Giants tied after 4 1/2 innings

Paul Goldschmidt’s RBI triple gave the Diamondbacks a brief lead in the top of the fourth, but the San Francisco Giants tied the game in the bottom of the inning at AT&T Park.

Diamondbacks lefty Anthony Banda struggled with his control in the fourth inning and issued a pair of walks, including one to Brandon Crawford with the bases loaded. That forced home Kelby Tomlinson, who opened the inning with a well-placed bunt single.

Goldschmidt’s triple into the gap in the fourth came after A.J. Pollock lined a single into center field. Pollock easily scored on Goldschmidt’s hit.

Walker expects boo birds for return to SF

Right-hander Taijuan Walker doesn’t expect to be greeted warmly when he starts on Saturday night at AT&T Park, his first time back in San Francisco since he drilled Buster Posey in the helmet with a fastball on April 10.

“I know I’m probably going to get booed when I go out there,” he said, smiling. “It’s all good.”

But Walker admitted the pitch rattled him at the time, and he said it took him several starts to get back to pitching inside consistently against right-handed hitters.

“It was kind of scary,” Walker said. “I didn’t want one to get away again. But I’ve kind of pushed that aside and now I’m attacking hitters inside now. I definitely have to pitch him inside, and when I do it’s going to be in the back of my head.”

Posey missed a week of games in April due to a seven-day stint on the concussion disabled list.

Ray throws, works out at Salt River Fields

Diamondbacks left-hander Robbie Ray was cleared to begin baseball activities after undergoing a neurological exam this week in Phoenix, manager Torey Lovullo said, an encouraging development for a pitcher who was struck in the head by a line drive last week.

Lovullo said Ray played catch from out to 125 feet and did lower leg exercises on Friday at Salt River Fields, though he said the team doesn’t have a sense for when Ray might return from the disabled list.

“That’s an unknown with Robbie,” Lovullo said. “We’ve got to get him through Step 1. That was a big step today. Once we get that road map laid out, we’ll share that with you guys.”

Ray was struck on the left side of his head, above his ear, by a 102 mph line drive off the bat of the Cardinals’ Luke Voit. He suffered a concussion and needed three staples to close a cut on his head but said he felt fortunate he wasn’t hurt more seriously.

Short hops

• Lovullo was entertained by his bullpen’s hi-jinx from Thursday’s rain delay – the relievers were acting out various stunts, including a human bowling display and a pantomimed bobsled race – and was surprised to see it got traction in national news. “I thought it was very special when I woke up this morning and turned on the Today Show and they were talking about it,” Lovullo said. “Those guys made it big time.”
• Outfielder Yasmany Tomas has made progress in his return from a groin injury, Lovullo said, and the hope is that he could begin a rehab assignment sometime next week. “He’s done all sorts of baseball activities, he’s initiated a running program and he’s feeling really good,” Lovullo said.
• The Diamondbacks reinstated shortstop Ketel Marte from the bereavement list and promoted left-hander Anthony Banda to start Friday night’s game. To make room, right-hander Rubby De La Rosa and shortstop Jack Reinheimer were optioned to Triple-A Reno.

Friday’s game

Diamondbacks at Giants || 7:15 p.m. || FSAZ

Pitching matchup: Anthony Banda, LHP, 0-1, 6.35 ERA vs. Madison Bumgarner, LHP, 1-4, 2.92 ERA

Notes: At AT&T Park, San Francisco: Banda has made one start with the Diamondbacks this season, giving up four runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings against the Washington Nationals on July 22. … Banda averaged 94.7 mph with his fastball, topping at 96.6 mph. … He’s made one start since, giving up four runs in six innings for Triple-A Reno on July 27. … Bumgarner has made four starts since returning from a shoulder injury sustained in a dirt bike accident. His most recent outing was his best; he gave up just five hits and one walk in seven shutout innings against the Dodgers on Sunday night. … Bumgarner averaged 92.45 mph this season on his fastball before the injury and has been at just 90.8 mph since. … He faced the Diamondbacks on Opening Day, giving up three runs in seven innings, with no walks and 11 strikeouts. He did not allow a hit until one out in the sixth inning.

MOORE: Goldschmidt, Martinez show D-Backs can handle playoff chase pressure

Catching up with the Giants

Giants update: Just about everything has gone wrong for the Giants this season, as they’ve struggled to stay healthy and received disappointing performances from several of their established players. LHP Madison Bumgarner missed nearly three months after hurting his shoulder in a dirt bike accident. RHP Johnny Cueto has been bothered by blister issues and recently came down with a flexor strain in his elbow. RHP Mark Melancon is on his second disabled list stint of the season but could return soon from an elbow issue. SS Brandon Crawford is having a down year, hitting just .229 with a .650 OPS, as is RF Hunter Pence, who is hitting .243 with just 19 extra-base hits in 329 at-bats. The Giants haven’t had a winning month all season. They won just nine times in July out of 25 games. They had lost five of six games entering their series finale Thursday night against the Oakland Athletics.

MORE: Paul Goldschmidt’s blasts highlight Diamondbacks’ wild win over Cubs

Hello, again, San Francisco

Exactly 114 days and 97 games have passed since the Diamondbacks last played the Giants, a 6-2 Shelby Miller loss to Matt Cain on April 12 in San Francisco.

It was the first series loss for the Diamondbacks, who had taken three of four games in the season-opening series with the Giants at home in Phoenix.

The two teams have defied expectations since then.

The Diamondbacks have gone on a 54-43 tear since then, including a 34-20 run in May and June. It has put Arizona in the driver’s seat for the team’s first postseason trip since the 2011 NL Division Series.

The Giants embarked on a $180 million season to forget, full of injury and disappointment. They sit at 42-68, at the bottom of the National League’s best division.

Banda gets start

Unsurprisingly, Anthony Banda was given the nod for Friday, a decision manager Torery Lovullo said was delayed because the club wanted to be sure he arrived safely in San Francisco on Thursday.

Though he’s been with Triple-A Reno, he hasn’t pitched since July 27 and wasn’t listed among the Aces’ probable starters for the next few games, so it wasn’t exactly hard to deduce who it was going to be.

“I just liked the way he competed,” GM Mike Hazen said. “He threw a lot of strikes, went right after them, wasn’t afraid. It was a tough lineup and he just challenged them. I think over the years of seeing young pitchers come up, to me, that’s everything.

“You don’t have a huge expectations of wins and losses necessarily, but it’s more about going out and competing and throwing strikes and make sure you give your team a chance to win. He did that.”

Marte returns

The team reinstated Ketel Marte from the bereavement list and optioned Rubby De La Rosa and Jack Reinheimer to Reno.

Marte, 23, was placed on the bereavement list July 31 following the death of his mother, Elpidia Valdez, in the Dominican Republic. He is hitting .242 (15-for-62) with four doubles, four home runs, 10 RBIs and a .814 OPS in 25 games in his first season with the Diamondbacks.

De La Rosa, 28, has made nine relief appearances in 2017, going 0-1 with a 4.70 ERA (four ER in 7.2 IP) and 12 strikeouts (14.09 SO/9.0 IP). He has held opponents scoreless in four of his past five outings (2.08 ERA; 1 ER in 4.1 IP) and seven of nine overall.

Reinheimer, 25, made his big-league debut on Aug. 1 at Chicago, and played in two games with the Diamondbacks.

MORE: Diamondbacks had reasons for not adding a starter

Coming up

Saturday: At San Francisco, 6:05 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Taijuan Walker (6-5, 3.55) vs. Giants RHP Matt Cain (3-9, 5.37).

Sunday: At San Francisco, 1:05 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (8-10, 4.77) vs. Giants RHP Jeff Samardzija (6-11, 4.77).

Monday: Off.

BICKLEY: Zack Godley a godsend for the Diamondbacks