Giants aim to add to Padres' July agony (Jul 31, 2018)
SAN DIEGO -- Having extended several Padres' marks for futility, the San Francisco Giants have a chance to make San Diego's lengthy summer a bit longer Tuesday afternoon at Petco Park.
The Giants defeated the Padres 5-3 in 12 innings Monday night , marking the 17th time in 18 series openers at home this season that the Padres have lost. That alone, however, does not tell the whole story. The Padres lost a sixth straight game for the second time in a span of 15 games (2-13) and fell to 8-29 since June 15.
Now they have a chance to finish July with a 5-20 mark, which, percentage-wise, would be the second-worst monthly mark in the 50-season history of the Major League Padres. The expansion team of 1969 went 5-22 in August.
Giants right-hander Dereck Rodriguez (5-1, 2.75 ERA) will try to end the Padres' July on another losing note as he's paired against Padres left-hander Clayton Richard (7-10, 5.05 ERA).
Rodriguez, a 26-year-old rookie, will be facing the Padres for the second time this season (and in his major league career). On June 24 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Rodriguez held the Padres to one run on four hits over seven innings but did not factor into the decision.
Rodriguez has made 11 appearances for the Giants and nine starts. The Giants are 7-2 in his starts. Rodriguez is 4-1 with a 2.91 ERA in his starts and 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in two relief appearances that covered 6 1/3 innings. He has worked a total of 59 innings, allowing 21 runs (18) earned on 53 hits and 15 walks for a .236 opponents' batting average and a 1.15 WHIP. He has allowed two runs or less in each of his last six starts.
At the age of 34, Richard is the veteran leader of the Padres' staff, although he has struggled of late -- losing four straight decisions over his last six starts. The Padres are 1-5 during a run that has seen Richard give up 28 runs on 36 hits and 18 walks with 16 strikeouts in 32 innings for a 7.88 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP.
Richard's problems have only grown in his first two starts since the All-Star break. He has allowed 13 runs on nine hits and six walks in just eight innings.
Before the start of his slide on June 27, Richard had a 7-6 record with a 4.23 ERA in 16 starts. His ERA has climbed 0.82 since.
Richard will be facing the Giants for the fourth time this season. He is 1-1 after his first three starts and has given up 13 runs (12 earned) on 18 hits and seven walks with 13 strikeouts in 15 innings -- for a 7.20 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP.
During the course of his career, Richard has faced San Francisco 23 times (20 starts) and is 7-8 with a 4.50 ERA, a 1.449 WHIP and an opponents' batting average of .289. He has pitched 118 innings against the Giants and given up 65 runs (59 earned) on 133 hits and 38 walks with 58 strikeouts.
