Giants Edge Padres in Extras

SF 3  SD 2 (10)
The Padres touched rookie Dereck Rodriguez for a run in the 1st on a two-out double by veteran Eric Hosmer. It would be all they'd get off the Giants starter who threw perhaps his best game of the season, and boy would the team need it. In a thoroughly Giants-y inning they tied it up in the 4th with a six-batter, three-hit attack: out, single, single, infield single, sacrifice fly, out. The extra-base hit with men on base has so eluded the team in 2018, and the theme would continue. In the 5th Andrew McCutchen, subject of much media interest, led off with a homer to make it 2-1. Note the extra-base hit but with no one on base. Of course the Giants had a chance to break it open and in an even more Giants-y sequence in the 8th and doom was foretold, it seemed, by the outcome. Single, single, walk--bases loaded and no one out. But a chance was blown as ball four went to the backstop and the runner at third (Evan Longoria) inexplicably failed to score. That was followed by a strike out, a grounder with the force out at home, and a fly out. The Padres tied the game up in the bottom half off Reyes Moronta, who has been awesome but, like the entire 'pen, over-used. Fortunately the Giants kept it together and gave themselves a chance with another spectacular Giants-y rally. Longoria led off the 10th with a triple which was quickly followed by a Nick Hundley strike out and an Austin Slater fly out. Brandon Crawford finally gave the club a run-scoring hit with a single and it was 3-2 Giants. They loaded the bases after that but got no more. Will Smith, for the third straight game, closed it superbly.

It was a grind-it-out win, the only kind the Giants can do with any consistency. There's not enough punch to thump opponents. They have to rely on the pitching and today was D-Rod's day. The final line was 112 pitches to 26 batters over seven innings, three hits, three walks, seven strikeouts, and just the one run. Tony Watson buzzed through a scoreless 9th after Moronta's uncharacteristically labored 8th, and Smith finished. But I have to come back to the rookie's performance, not just today but overall. That was his 10th start--ever in the bigs--and he's had one stinker and one meh and the rest have been at least six innings and two or fewer runs allowed. Check out this guy's game log--he's done a fair impersonation of Johnny Cueto!

Madison Bumgarner is next: Thursday at 6:40 in Arizona. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.