Pudge's Son Gets First MLB Win In First Start With Giants
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Dereck Rodriguez tried to treat this start just like all the others he's made in pro ball. Even if it was his first one in the majors.
"I felt fine," said the son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez. "I felt like I was going out there like any other start when I was down in Triple-A. A couple more thousand people. Besides that, I felt the same out there."
Rodriguez earned his first big league win, giving up a home run to Jake Arrieta but outpitching the Philadelphia Phillies ace to lead the San Francisco Giants over Philly by a score of 6-1 Sunday for a three-game sweep. The 25-year-old righty had pitched just once before in the majors, going 3 1/3 innings in relief last Tuesday at Colorado.
Making his first start, Rodriguez gave up one run -- on Arrieta's sixth career homer -- and five hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out six.
Arrieta's frustration boiled over after the game. He took aim at the team he joined this year, upset at the Phillies' defensive positioning. "We're the worst in the league with shifts, so we need to change that," Arrieta said. He didn't offer any specific recommendations.
"Use your eyes, make an adjustment and be better. We need some accountability all the way around. Everybody, top to bottom," Arrieta said. "This is a key moment in our season. We had a pretty good April, a pretty good May. June isn't starting out so well."
Asked if he thought the team had the wherewithal to do that, Arrieta said, "if there's not, I'll make sure there is." The Phillies are 2-5 so far on a 10-game road trip. They have scored only one run in 29 innings.
Arrieta (5-3) allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings. The 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner had given up just three earned runs over his last 35 innings when the Giants broke through in the sixth to score five times. Andrew McCutchen hit a three-run homer, an opposite-field shot that helped the Giants win their fourth in a row. They've taken five straight at home.
McCutchen hadn't homered in 159 previous plate appearances, the longest power dry spell of his career.
Arrieta hadn't allowed a home run in 33 consecutive innings.
The Giants trailed 1-0 when manager Bruce Bochy pinch-hit Alen Hanson for Rodriguez in the sixth. Hanson beat out an infield hit that was among five straight hits in a five-run inning. McCutchen's opposite-field drive off Arrieta broke it open. Buster Posey hit his fourth home run off Phillies reliever Hector Neris in the eighth.
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