SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Armando Galarraga knows baseball can be tough sometimes. But walking the opposing pitcher? That was almost too much to bear.
"I lost it," Galarraga said after watching the San Francisco Giants come back to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 on Wednesday night. "I got out of focus a little bit."
Galarraga (3-3) was given a 3-0 lead heading into the fourth and was a pitch away from getting out of the inning without allowing a run. Instead, he walked Aaron Rowand and gave up an RBI single to Miguel Tejada. A wild pitch allowed another run to score and then he walked Jonathan Sanchez - the Giants' starter - and Andres Torres before getting out of the inning.
"I walked the pitcher," said Galarraga, shaking his head. "I throw the wild pitch. The only good swing was the home run. maybe I got out of rhythm. It had to be something."
Aubrey Huff's home run in the fifth tied the game, and Tejada's double in the sixth ended Galarraga's night.
"He ran into some trouble there, walking three guys in the inning and giving a couple of runs back," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "He had a good pace but we noticed he slowed down and started walking guys. I'm not disappointed; he went out there and battled."
After wins in the final at-bat in three of the previous four games, San Francisco fell behind again before squeaking out runs and leaning on its bullpen.
Tejada came through with the one-out double in the sixth, one of his three hits.
"The one thing I have to say is I have to do something for this team," Tejada said. "They put a lot of confidence in me, and I have to produce."
Gutierrez came in and got pinch-hitter Pat Burrell to fly out to left before Torres' double put San Francisco ahead 4-3.
Ramon Ramirez, Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo kept Arizona scoreless over the next two innings. Wilson briefly made things interesting in the ninth - as usual - when Xavier Nady hit a leadoff double.
Gerardo Parra walked and Henry Blanco struck out trying to bunt. Russell Branyan grounded out to first, and then Torres caught Kelly Johnson's flyball against the center-field wall for the final out.
The bullpen's effort was just the kind of pick-me-up that worked so well for the World Series champions last season, and a much-needed boost for the starting pitcher again.
Sanchez (3-2) struggled with his control again, but managed to minimize the damage.
Johnson had a leadoff double in the first inning, and Stephen Drew drove him in two batters later with a grounder to first base. Blanco had an RBI single in the second and a solo homer to left in the fourth, giving Arizona a 3-0 lead.
That seemed to be a comfortable cushion for Galarraga, although no lead seems to be enough against these Giants lately.
Galarraga left after 5 1-3 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and striking out four. Arizona has lost three straight games and four of its last five.
Notes: Giants LHP Barry Zito threw off the mound before the game for the first time since he sprained his right foot in a start April 16. He threw about 10 minutes and will have another bullpen session later this week. ... Giants reliever Santiago Casilla will likely make a rehab start for Single-A San Jose over the weekend. The team will make a final decision Thursday. ... Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said right-hander Josh Collmenter will make his first start in the majors Saturday against the Dodgers. Collmenter was brought up from the minors a couple weeks ago and has pitched only in relief. ... The announced attendance was 41,026, the 14th straight sellout to start the season for San Francisco.
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