SAN FRANCISCO — A rookie, a journeyman, and a veteran.
Dereck Rodriguez, Pablo Sandoval, and Hunter Pence each have a unique story that explains their place on the 2018 San Francisco Giants roster. But on Friday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, each member of the motley crew of three shared one common trait: contribution. Each player contributed to a well-played game that saw the Giants ultimately prevail 3-2 and snap their four-game losing streak
Rodriguez’s day on the mound started somewhat inauspiciously, as Jedd Gyorko tripled with one out in the second to give the Cardinals an early runner in scoring position. The rookie got some help from his defense, however, as Brandon Crawford retired him on a fielder’s choice when Gyorko broke for the plate on Paul DeJong’s ground ball to Brandon Crawford, which Crawford promptly fired to Buster Posey, who tagged Gyorko out at home. But a defensive shift hurt the Giants in the inning, as Kolten Wong’s high fly ball to left fell just inside of the left field line and out of the reach of Alen Hanson, who was playing well off the line. Hanson then overran the ball, which allowed DeJong to score from first.
The Giants’ offense had an answer, as Brandon Crawford and Pablo Sandoval had back-to-back leadoff walks to start their half of the inning before Joe Panik hit a deep sacrifice fly to right, advancing Crawford to third. Cardinals starting pitcher then threw a wild pitch, enabling Crawford to dash home for the tying run.
The Giants threatened in the fourth when Joe Panik singled with two out and advanced to third on Gorkys Hernandez’s double. Though Panik was prevented by rule from scoring when a fan interfered with the ball in play, other factors may also have affected his ability to score. Panik pulled up short of third with a left groin strain and left the game immediately to be replaced by Austin Slater. Pitcher Dereck Rodriguez, the next batter up, was unable to drive in the run, and the Giants ended the inning without breaking the tie.
Rodriguez and Cardinals starter John Gant locked into a pitcher’s duel in the middle innings as both offenses remained quiet.
Gant was the next to blink, conceding a one-out solo home run to Pablo Sandoval to break the tie. But Kolten Wong countered in the seventh with a run-scoring triple to knot the score back up at 2. Rodriguez was lifted for Reyes Moronta, who struck out a swinging Harrison Badger on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat.
In the bottom of the frame, the Giants used two singles to plate their third run and regain the lead. Hunter Pence singled up the middle to lead off the inning, and reached second on Hanson’s sac bunt. After Buster Posey was walked intentionally, Andrew McCutchen split the hole on the left side of the infield to score Pence.
Tony Watson and Will Smith each contributed one inning of scoreless relief to close out the game, with Smith earning his third save of the season.