Lewis' blast not enough; Correia yields two HRs

PHOENIX -- The Giants moved one step further from the Barry Bonds era on Monday, when Fred Lewis hit a home run at Chase Field. It was the first homer by a Giants left fielder since Bonds' 762nd and final long ball last season.

But the Giants don't have anything close to Bonds' imposing presence in the lineup, and they couldn't find the clutch hit they needed in a 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Lewis, who lined his solo shot in the third inning, killed a rally when he grounded into a double play in the seventh.

And Eugenio Velez committed a grave sin leading off the eighth inning when he was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple. It appeared Velez was safe in replays, but the third-base umpire ruled otherwise and the Giants could not bring the tying run to the plate.

With the tying run at first base in the ninth, pinch hitter Rich Aurilia took a called third strike from closer Brandon Lyon as the streaking Diamondbacks improved their major league-best record to 14-5.

The Giants were held to two runs or fewer for the 10th time in 20 games. Their pinch hitters are a woeful 3 for 33. Velez has all three hits.

Kevin Correia gave up three runs over six innings to meet the minimum standards of a quality start. But once again, he had trouble keeping the ball in the yard.

Eric Byrnes hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to erase the Giants' one-run lead. Correia also gave up a solo shot to Mark Reynolds in the second inning.

Correia has allowed 12 runs this season; seven have scored on five home runs he has allowed in 25» innings.

The Reynolds homer was emblematic. Correia fell behind 3-1, threw a belt-high fastball in a fastball count, and Reynolds pounced on it.

Giants left fielders had not homered in 151 at-bats since Bonds connected on Sept. 5, 2007, at Coors Field.

Lewis almost turned his home run ball into a pool toy. He hit the first pitch from Micah Owings and it glanced off the gut of a fan standing in front of the swimming pool past the left field fence.

The Giants have played two teams, the Brewers and Cardinals, who bat their pitcher eighth. They faced a more familiar alignment Monday, though Owings was far from your typical square-to-bunt pitcher.

A career .314 hitter, Owings hit leadoff singles in the third and fifth innings. Correia escaped the third-inning jam on a spectacular double play. Conor Jackson hit a hard grounder, Velez made a knee-skidding stop to his left then delivered the ball quickly to shortstop Emmanuel Burriss. Burriss, who was making his first career start, showed his athleticism by making a nice turn and throw.