Rodriguez pitches Giants into virtual tie for 2nd
Rookie gets big lead, then shuts down D’backs
PHOENIX >> A minor league free agent. A converted outfielder. A pitcher who had never even logged an inning at Triple-A.
Before the season began, that was Dereck Rodríguez’s résumé.
He hasn’t wasted much time exceeding every reasonable expectation.
After tossing 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks, Rodríguez earned his third career big league win and helped the Giants to their 10th shutout victory of the year in a 7-0 final.
“It’s no secret that good pitching is what it’s going to take to get to the playoffs and to win another championship,” catcher Buster Posey said. “It’s good to see him having success.”
With their ninth win in their last 11 games, the Giants moved into a virtual tie for second place in the National League West and secured their fourth road series win of the season a year after San Francisco recorded just three series victories away from AT&T Park.
“I think we all collectively know we’ve got to play better on the road and this is a good start,” Posey said. “Tomorrow is a big game as well and then going to Denver where we haven’t played well the last couple of years so it’s a matter of trying to keep our focus as best as we can.”
The D’backs opened the weekend having won 20 of their last 29 games, but they couldn’t break away from their competitors
within the division thanks to surges by the Giants and Dodgers that leave the teams 3.5 games out heading into July.
“We’re right in the thick of things and that’s right where you want to be,” manager Bruce Bochy said.
With a series-opening win Friday behind rookie Andrew Suárez, the Giants picked up their 17th victory of the month, matching their total from June of 2016, the last time the club finished a month with a record above .500.
The Giants did themselves an early favor in their quest for win No. 18 on Saturday, batting around in the top of the third en route to a four-run frame that eased the pressure on the rookie Rodríguez.
After nearly winning National League Player of
the Month honors in May, shortstop Brandon Crawford continued his torrid pace throughout June. He put an exclamation point on the month with a solo home run to open the second inning against D’backs starter Shelby Miller, blasting a 418-foot home run into the pool area at Chase Field.
Crawford’s 10th home run of the season required him to dig down and launch a curveball that dropped in below the strike zone, but his ability to lay off pitches led to the Giants’ second run.
After three straight hits loaded the bases in the third inning, Crawford took four consecutive balls from Miller to plate Posey.
The Giants continued to capitalize on Miller’s location mistakes, as Pablo
Sandoval drove in a pair of runs with a single and Joe Panik brought home another with a 402-foot sacrifice fly. In the eighth inning, Panik hit a ball 365 feet, but it skipped off the top of the right field wall and over the fence for his fourth home run of the year and his first since April 3.
Andrew McCutchen added to the onslaught in the fourth, launching a two-out solo shot into the right field bleachers to push the Giants ahead 6-0. McCutchen’s second hit of the night capped off his best month with the Giants, as the right fielder recorded 35 hits, posted a .305 average and hit six of his nine home runs in June.
As the battle for spots in the Giants’ rotation heats up, Rodríguez made another significant statement Saturday with his second
straight quality start and his fourth of his brief career.
Despite earning a nonroster invitation to spring training, Rodríguez hardly pitched for the Giants in Cactus League play as he appeared in just four games. Still, he found time to make an impression on the club’s decision-makers, earning a start on March 21 at Salt River Fields against the D’backs.
He responded with three innings of scoreless work against a solid Arizona lineup featuring several regular starters.
“We’re a long way from spring,” Rodríguez said. “It was fun throwing against them in the spring and coming in today and pretty much doing the same thing and I felt good out there.”
After Rodríguez joined the club, the Giants staff completed a remarkable turnaround as the team entered Saturday’s contest with a 2.80 ERA in June, the second-best mark in the major leagues after San Francisco finished May with a 5.39 mark.
“They called and I’m answering,” Rodríguez said. “That’s what they need and that’s what I’m doing.”