When the Diamondbacks acquired right fielder Steven Souza Jr. in February, they did not envision him as a pure one-for-one offensive replacement for J.D. Martinez. Instead, they saw him as a sum-of-his-parts type, someone whose total contributions might approximate Martinez’s value.
What they envisioned was the sort of performance Souza gave them on Wednesday night at AT&T Park. He hit a rocket for a home run. He smoked another ball for a double. He made a pair of diving catches, one of which his pitcher said ranked among the best he’d ever seen.
“He was a catalyst for us today,” manager Torey Lovullo said, “on both sides of the ball.”
The Diamondbacks certainly didn’t expect it to take until late August for Souza to have this sort of game, but they weren’t complaining Wednesday night after their 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants, a win that allowed them to both avoid a sweep and head to Los Angeles as a first-place team in advance of a crucial series against the Dodgers.
BOX SCORE:Diamondbacks 3, Giants 1
