Photo credit: @SFGiants
By Jeremy Kahn
SAN FRANCISCO — Dereck Rodriguez is continuing to show everyone that he should be considered for the National League Rookie of the Year.
Rodriguez went seven innings, allowing one run on two hits, while walking one and striking out four and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 before a sellout crowd of 41,980 at AT&T Park on Sunday afternoon.
The right-hander continued his impressive streak of where he did not allow more than two runs, as the streak now stands at eight. The last time Rodriguez allowed more than two runs in a game was against the Washington Nationals on June 9, when he allowed five runs in just two and two-thirds innings of work.
Rodriguez also retired the final nine batters he faced after he issued a leadoff walk to Elias Diaz to open the top of the fifth inning.
Over his last nine appearances on the mound, Rodriguez has a 1.28 earned run average and has allowed just eight earned runs in 56.1 innings. The two hits he allowed were a new career-low in a start.
With the victory, the Giants are now 21-20 in one-run games this season.
The Pirates took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, as Diaz doubled off of Rodriguez that scored Josh Bell, who doubled to lead off the inning.
Diaz’s double was the last hit that the Pirates would get off of Rodriguez for the remainder of the game.
Nick Hundley tied up the game in the bottom of the third inning, as he hit a triple to the appropriately named Triples Alley out there in right-center field to score Steven Duggar, who singled to lead off the inning.
That was the second triple of the season for Hundley, with his first coming on June 6 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It is also the first season since 2015 he has more than one triple in a season, in that season, he hit five triples.
Hundley ended the afternoon with two hits, his third multi-hit game since July 1. He picked up a multi-hit game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 1, and then three weeks later on July 22 against the Oakland A’s at the Coliseum.
Joe Panik drove in what turned out to be the game-winning run, as he a sacrifice fly to score Brandon Crawford, who doubled with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning. After the Crawford double, Gorkys Hernandez hit an infield single that sent Crawford to third base.
After the Panik sacrifice fly that gave the Giants the lead for good, Duggar beat out an infield single and Hernandez smartly headed to third base, as Pirates starter Joe Musgrove argued concerning Duggar beating out the throw.
Hundley drove in his second run of the game, as he singled in Hernandez from third base to give the Giants a two-run lead.
Panik drove in his second run of the afternoon in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he singled off of Musgrove to score Hernandez, who reached on a Fielders’ Choice that forced out Crawford at second base after the shortstop walked to lead off the inning.
The Pirates tried to make a game out of it in the top of the eighth inning, as Reyes Moronta walked Adam Frazier, then Jordy Mercer singled him to second base. After Moronta was able to strikeout pinch hitter David Freese, and then Tony Watson came on to strikeout Corey Dickerson; however, the Pirates got within one run, as Starling Marte lashed a two-run double to get the Pirates within one run. Watson was able to regroup, and get Gregory Polanco to fly out to Duggar for the third out of the inning.
Will Smith came onto the close the game in the top of the ninth inning, and nailed it down for his eighth save in 10 chances this season. Smith struck out Bell and pinch hitter Francisco Cervelli, before getting Diaz to fly out to Duggar to end the game.
Musgrove went six innings, allowing four runs, on seven hits, walking one and striking out six, as he saw his record fall to 4-7 on the season.
Mercer committed multiple errors in the same game for the first time in his major-league career.
NOTES: In his Giants debut, Casey Kelly became just the third Giants reliever in the San Francisco era to throw at least five innings in his debut. Kelly joins Don Larsen, who 6.1 on April 14, 1962 against the Reds at Candlestick Park and then John Montesfusco went 9.0 innings on September 3, 1974 against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, this according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Brandon Belt began his rehab assignment after hyperextending right knee against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night, and he went 0-for-2 for the Sacramento Rivercats. Hunter Strickland, who is currently on the disabled list with a broken right hand threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Strickland is eligible to come off the disabled list on Saturday.
UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner will take the hill, as the Giants open their final three-city road trip of the season on Monday night at 7:10 pm PDT against Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Following the final trip to Los Angeles for the 2018 season, the Giants will head onto Cincinnati for a three-game series and then ending with a four-game series at Citi Field against the New York Mets.
