Benes, Arizona Rocked By Giants

Scott Servais made up for an earlier tough day behind the plate with a strong day at the plate.

Servais had three hits, including his first home run, and drove in three runs to lead the San Francisco Giants to an 8-5 victory Saturday over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Servais had just one hit in 11 at-bats with the Giants and had allowed six stolen bases in San Francisco's 7-3 loss Tuesday to Houston.

"When you play long enough you have some good games and some bad games," Servais said. "It's just ironic how quick it turned around."

Servais had a run-scoring single to cap the Giants' four-run first inning against Andy Benes (1-2) and added a two-run homer in the third.

"It was nice for Scotty and it was nice for us to get out of the gate early," said Giants manager Dusty Baker, whose club is 3-4 since opening the season with five straight wins. "It's a big psychological advantage when you can jump them early, especially with some crooked numbers."

Baker said his decision to start Servais rather than regular catcher Brent Mayne was based partially on statistics and partially on a hunch. Servais was grateful for the opportunity to redeem himself.

"Dusty showed some confidence in me," Servais said. "The guys in this clubhouse know I can play. They've seen enough of me during the season or in spring training. That's what makes this organization different than others. I have been placed where they won't talk to you for a couple of weeks."

The Giants got all the runs they would need in the first inning.

Barry Bonds got a two-out double on a high fly ball that first baseman Greg Colbrunn and right fielder Tony Womack lost in the sun coming through the half-opened retractable roof. Jeff Kent walked and Benes hit J.T. Snow with a pitch to load the bases.

Ellis Burks doubled just inside the left-fielfoul line, scoring three, and scored himself on Servais' single.

"Andy was as good as I've seen him since early last year," said Arizona manager Buck Showalter. "He looked like he was locked in but we couldn't get it done after that fly ball."

The Diamondbacks scored in the bottom half on Jay Bell's triple and an error by Rich Aurilia at shortstop.

Aurilia made up for the error in the second when he homered into the left-field stands. Servais home run gave the Giants an 8-1 lead.

Kirk Rueter (1-0) allowed three runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings.

"He threw more pitches today than he has in a while," Baker said. "He gave us all he had and today it was enough."

Benes allowed eight runs on six hits and four walks. The three-inning stint matched his shortest for the Diamondbacks.

"I don't feel bad for myself. I feel bad for the people who had to watch that today," Benes said. "It's a matter of not being able to throw the ball across early. I fell behind a lot today."

Benes has allowed 17 runs on 19 hits and 12 walks over 12.2 innings in his first three starts.

Tony Batista had an RBI single in the third and Colbrunn hit a solo home run in the fifth. Womack hit an RBI triple and scored in the ninth.

Notes: The Giants have been either in first or second in the NL West since April 12, 1997. ... In their brief 174-game history, the Diamondbacks have had four opportunities to reach the .500 mark and are 0-4 in those games. ... Charlie Hayes was called out for batter's interference in the third when he hit Damian Miller in the mask with his bat as the catcher attempted to make a throw. But Miller was called for batter's interference three innings later when he collided with Snow as the first baseman chased a foul popup. ... Benes had won seven straight starts against San Francisco. ... The Giants placed right-hander pitcher Mark Gardner on the 15-day disabled list with discomfort in his right shoulder and recalled outfielder Armando Rios from Triple-A Fresno of the Pacific Coast League. Gardner was 0-2 with an 11.77 ERA and had allowed 25 hits in 13 innings. Rios hit .357 with one homer and three RBIs in eight games with the Grizzlies. He flied out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.

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