SAN DIEGO (AP) - If he keeps pitching this well, Derek Rodriguez will be in the discussion for the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
“That would be one thing that my dad never got, so that would be nice,” Rodridguez, the son of Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez, said after pitching seven strong innings in the San Francisco Giants’ 3-2, 10-inning victory against the staggering San Diego Padres on Tuesday.
Brandon Crawford singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the 10th inning and Andrew McCutchen homered for the Giants, who swept the two-game series and won their third straight game.
Rodriguez was in line for his sixth victory against one loss before Reyes Moronta allowed the Padres to tie it at 2 in the eighth on Manuel Margot’s RBI grounder.
Rodriguez held San Diego to one run and three hits while striking out a career-high seven and walking three. It was the second time in 10 big league starts that he went seven innings.
Rodriguez settled down after allowing Wil Myers’ single and Eric Hosmer’s RBI double with two outs in the first. The Padres got a runner as far as second only one other time against Rodriguez.
He gave the Giants a solid effort a day after they had to go 13 innings to beat the Padres. Rodriguez threw 112 pitches.
“I just went out there and pitched my game. They asked me in the top of the seventh if I felt good and I did and I went out there for the seventh,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever thrown that many pitches in my life. That was a good one.”
Manager Bruce Bochy marveled about how reliable Rodriguez has been since making his big league debut on May 29. His 2.59 ERA ranks first among NL rookie pitchers.
“It’s a shame we couldn’t get a win for him with that effort,” Bochy said. “But we had some tough luck. The first five innings we hit the ball hard but didn’t have much to show for it. He kept it close.”
The Padres lost their seventh straight, dropped to 2-9 since the All-Star break and lost for the 14th time in 16 games. San Diego finished July at 5-20, their second worst month by percentage in club history.
“It’s been a struggle,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “Those guys in there are giving absolutely everything they’ve got. I think the harder thing for us has been flushing the previous days and not letting that carry-over effect, kind of the hangover effect, of not getting it done, impact the next day’s at-bats. It’s human nature. As professionals at this level we got to do a better job flushing that, leaving that behind.”
Evan Longoria tripled leading off the 10th against Phil Maton (0-2) and scored on Crawford’s single to right.
Tony Watson (4-4) pitched a perfect ninth for the win, and Will Smith pitched the 10th for his sixth save.
McCutchen homered to right leading off the fifth versus lefty Clayton Richard, his 11th. Gorkys Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Richard allowed two runs and five hits in five innings, walked three and struck out one.
Green said the pitching staff kept the team in the game.
“Can’t expect a staff to hold a team down into extra innings every single day and give the opportunity to keep coming back,” he said. “We’ve just got to string together a lot more constructive at-bats if we want to win baseball games.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: Placed rookie LHP Eric Lauer on the 10-day disabled list with a strained left forearm and recalled RHP Walker Lockett from Triple-A El-Paso.
STILL HERE
Reliever Kirby Yates, who pitched the ninth, had been one of a trio of Padres pitchers rumored to be on the trade block. None of them were moved.
“I mean, honestly I didn’t think anything was going to happen,” Yates said. “I want to be part of this movement that sticks around for the next few years.”
UP NEXT
Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (3-4, 3.06) is scheduled to start the opener of a four-game series at Arizona on Thursday night.
Padres: LHP Robbie Erlin (1-3, 3.47) is scheduled to start the opener of a four-game series at the Chicago Cubs on Thursday night. He replaces Luis Perdomo, who went on the disabled list with a shoulder injury Saturday.
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