The monkey is finally off their back.

Trevor McDonald threw six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out five, and the San Francisco Giants snapped their season-long nightmare against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 6-4 win on July 1. Victor Bericoto clubbed a two-run homer off Zac Gallen, and for the first time in 2026, the Giants can say they beat Arizona.

"We were 0-8 against this team this year, so that was what was on my mind more than anything," McDonald said after the game. "We really want a good second half, so that's our mindset and goal moving forward."

The numbers tell the story of dominance. McDonald needed just 78 pitches to navigate six innings, walking none and keeping the Diamondbacks off balance all night. The lone hit he surrendered came courtesy of some defensive miscommunication — the kind of lucky break that had been going Arizona's way all season.

Meanwhile, the Giants' offense finally showed up against their divisional tormentors. Bericoto's 422-foot blast in the fifth gave San Francisco a 3-0 cushion, and they never looked back. Heliot Ramos added a solo shot and an RBI triple, Jung Hoo Lee collected two hits and an RBI, and Drew Cavanaugh kept the line moving with two knocks of his own.

This wasn't just a win — it was exorcism. The Diamondbacks had owned the Giants in 2026, beating them in eight straight meetings and making San Francisco look like a JV squad sharing a division with varsity. Every close game went Arizona's way. Every mistake got magnified. Every Giants rally met some improbable Diamondbacks defensive play or clutch two-out hit.

But Tuesday was different. McDonald, who entered 2-4 with a 4.64 ERA and was coming off a rough outing against the Cubs, looked like the guy the Giants thought they were getting when they handed him the ball. Manager Tony Vitello praised his rookie's relentless approach in the strike zone, and McDonald rewarded that faith with the kind of start that can reset a season.

The Giants still trail in the NL West. They're still a team with questions as the trade deadline approaches 29 days away. But for one night, they weren't the team that gets pushed around by Arizona. They were the team that finally punched back.

The streak is over. Sometimes that's all you need.

Sal is 14-10 (+3.9u YTD).

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