Rookie returns, finds his groove in first win
Trevor Richards got
MIAMI — a lot better at limiting walks
and attacking the strike zone during his recent monthplus trip back to the minors.
It didn’t seem like it against the first two batters he faced Tuesday night. But after issu
ing a pair of walks that led to a run, Richards got back on track and delivered one of
the best starts of his rookie season.
The Marlins made sure it would result in Richards’ first career win after rallying a couple of innings later
and holding on to a 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Marlins Park.
Richards (1-3, 4.41 ERA in seven major-league starts) held the Giants (33-34) to that
solitary run in the first and pitched six innings, allow- ing two hits, walking three overall and striking out two.
Richards, who has made a remarkable journey from
pitching in the independent minor leagues to pitching in the majors in a short amount of time, was already getting congratulatory messages from friends and family after the game.
“It’s good to get that one out of the way,” Richards said. “I’m sure it will be pretty big. I think I’m the first
Drury (University) pitcher to win an MLB game so it’s exciting and I just want to continue to build from here.”
Richards walked Joe Panik and Buster Posey to open the game, and threw a wild pitch that allowed them to move to second and third. A diving stop by JT Riddle on a sharp grounder by Bran- don Crawford two batters later saved a run, but Panik scored to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.
“JT saved that inning,” Richards said. “He made a huge play and that’s just having good defense behind me. I got a little too excited for the game and lost mechanics, but I was able to settle down and get going.”
After rallying three times in Monday’s win over the Giants, the Marlins (25-42) came back again as Riddle
hit a two-run double with the bases loaded in the third inning right after Starlin Cas- tro tied it with a single.
It was Richards’ best outing since tossing seven scoreless innings on April 14 against the Pirates in a game the Marlins lost 1-0.
Before being recalled last Thursday, Richards made six starts at Triple-A New Orle
ans, where he went 3-2 with a 2.06 ERA, striking out 37
and issuing four walks. Kyle Barraclough recorded his fourth save of the season and third since assuming the closer role. Barraclough also made his 14th consecutive scoreless appearance.
Stellar defense: Despite his hitting struggles (.168 batting average), Lewis Brinson is proving himself to be one of baseball’s top defensive outfielders. Brinson is tied for third in the majors with Harrison Bader and Lorenzo Cain in defensive runs saved with 11. The only outfielders with more are Brett Gardner (14) and Adam Duvall (12).