Erlin, Padres get win over Giants

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres’ Swiss Army Knife pitcher got the win in his second-to-last start of the season.

And not due to anything Robbie Erlin did in his five innings of work on Wednesday, it was more likely than not his second-to-last start with the Padres.

At least scheduled start, in that it is actually impossible to rule out Erlin doing anything. And everything.

“He’s a very valuable pitcher,” pitching coach Darren Balsley said. “He can spot start, he can come out of the ‘pen and go long, he can get one lefty out, he can get a righty out. He can do a lot of things. He’s really, really valuable in that combination. He’s one of the most valuable pitchers we have . ... There’s a trust factor, a reliability factor, and he can do anything. That’s a huge plus. He’s a utility pitcher.”

The left-hander on Wednesday endured a three-run, 25pitch second inning, which perhaps prevented his going deeper into the 8-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants, though manager Andy Green indicated before the game he was inclined to go to his deep bullpen early prior to a day off.

After Giants starter Chris Stratton hit a bases-loaded double to put San Francisco up 3-0 in the top of the second, the first five Padres batters reached base against Stratton (10-10) in the bottom of the second. Successive RBI singles by Cory Spangenberg and Freddy Galvis and Manuel Margot’s sacrifice fly tied the game. Wil Myers added a two run-homer before the inning was finished.

Aramis Garcia’s solo home run off Craig Stammen made it a one-run game in the eighth before Freddy Galvis’ threerun homer in the bottom of the inning provided the final margin.

What Erlin did Wednesday continued a stretch of overall consistency since he returned to the rotation in early August. It was the sixth time in those nine starts that he went at least five innings.

But really, Wednesday was never going to have much bearing on where Erlin ends up in 2019.

The stats say it. So, essentially, does his manager.

“He very easily could end up in the rotation next year,” Green said. “He’ll come in and compete for that opportunity. Whether he gets it will be dictated by how he throws, how other guys throw, but also the understanding that Robbie can slide to the bullpen and give us good, effective innings there.”