Arizona Can’t Zero In on Win

Darryl Hamilton hit a two-run double, and Mark Gardner pitched six strong innings as the San Francisco Giants beat the winless Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-3, Friday night.

The Diamondbacks fell to 0-4, the worst start for an expansion team since the 1962 New York Mets lost their first nine games on their way to 120 losses.

Gardner, who was 12-9 for the Giants last season, gave up four hits, struck out eight and walked three in his first start of the year.

He retired the first eight batters before Arizona pitcher Jeff Suppan singled in the third, his first major league hit.

Arizona’s Matt Williams had two doubles, including a ground-rule double that bounced into the swimming pool area outside the fence in right center.

Arizona scored on Gardner’s bases-loaded walk in the fourth, Brent Brede’s RBI groundout in the sixth and Andy Fox’s run-scoring single in the ninth. Fox singled home Brede, who had just gotten the first triple in Arizona history.

Brede, who started Arizona’s first two games in left field, got the nod in right field ahead of former Dodger Karim Garcia, who is expected to start when the Diamondbacks come to L.A.