PHOENIX _ John the Baptist had it easy. He only had to wander in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights.
The San Francisco Giants spent 50 of their past 53 nights in Arizona, and you can't blame their pitchers if they are eager to experience some relative humidity. Jeff Samardzija gave up a pair of opposite-way home runs that Chase Field couldn't contain, then Jake Lamb parked a three-run shot in the sixth inning as the Giants lost 9-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday night
The Giants dropped three of four in a season-opening series that easily could have gone the other way. The Giants held a lead in all four games. All told, they blew six leads over their three losses � and the bullpen was responsible for just two of the six.
Samardzija couldn't hold a pair of leads. He gave back a 2-0 advantage when David Peralta and Paul Goldschmidt hit consecutive home runs in the fourth inning. Then after Buster Posey's double had put the Giants ahead in the sixth, Samardzija bent at the waist after Lamb punished a mistake pitch that traveled over the yellow line adjacent to the 413-foot marker in right-center.
The game got out of hand in Arizona's three-run eighth inning when Giants left-hander Ty Blach followed a pair of two-out walks with two doubles.
Former Diamondbacks infielder Aaron Hill certainly understands how lively Chase Field plays, especially when they crack open the roof to the stars and the infield becomes a parking lot in the late innings.
Hill, who made his Giants debut a night earlier when he drew a pinch walk with the bases loaded, got a start at second base against left-hander Robbie Ray and hit a solo home run in his first at-bat. It was Hill's first home run at Chase Field as a visitor since 2010, when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Giants took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, when Brandon Belt showed why the No.2 spot in the lineup could be a season-long fit. Belt drew a leadoff walk, then with two outs, he gauged the situation and stole his way into scoring position. Brandon Crawford came through with an RBI single to left field.
Samardzija gave back the lead in the bottom of the fourth when he couldn't fool the Diamondbacks' Nos. 2-3 hitters upon second glance.
The first time through the order, Samardzija struck out five of the nine batters he faced while throwing a simple mix of fastballs and sliders. He didn't have the diving splitter, the pitch he so critically lacked in 2015 with the White Sox and had to improvise around before finding it in the second half last season.
When he didn't get ahead in the count, he perished. Peralta hit a 1-0 fastball over the plate, while Goldschmidt connected on a 2-0 pitch when Samardzija tried to triple up on sliders.
Goldschmidt's shot landed a dozen rows deep in the right field stands _ an impressive power display for a ball hit the other way _ but it likely would've been off the arcade at AT&T Park.
Samardzija struck out the side in the fifth, he finished with nine on the night and his fastball brushed up against 95 mph. But his third pass through Arizona's lineup was worse than the second one. He retired just one of the six batters he faced.
Once again, the Giants were left to lament the add-on hit that could have fattened a lead. They followed Posey's RBI double in the sixth with a pair of walks, but Chris Marrero swung at two low pitches out of the zone to fall behind against left-handed reliefer Jorge De La Rosa, then flied out.
Giants left fielders (Marrero, Jarrett Parker and Hill, who moved there on a double-switch) were 0 for 17 with 10 strikeouts in the series.
For the ball to carry in the desert air, you've got to make contact.
