For the second night in a row
Glover Quin Jersey , a young San Francisco pitcher shut down the Arizona Diamondbacks.
This time, Dereck Rodriguez blanked them into the seventh inning and the Giants made it two straight wins in Arizona with a 7-0 victory Saturday.
Rodriguez’s performance came a night after Andrew Suarez allowed one run in six innings during San Francisco’s 2-1 series-opening victory. The NL West-leading Diamondbacks have managed just one run in the last 18 innings.
”It’s big,” Rodriguez said. ”They’re leading our division and we come in and shut them down. That’s big for our team and our pitching staff, gives us some momentum.”
Brandon Crawford, Andrew McCutchen and Joe Panik homered on another rough night for Shelby Miller, who struggled in his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery.
Panik’s homer, off reliever Jimmie Sherfy in the eighth, was his first since April 3, a span of 162 at-bats.
Ty Blach and Cory Gearrin completed San Francisco’s 10th shutout of the season.
”Overall just a well-played game,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ”We got the hits, the runs to give us a cushion there and what a job Rodriguez did. He followed up a great start. He’s been throwing the ball terrific.”
The Giants have won nine of 11 to pull into a tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers for second in the NL West, 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Diamondbacks. San Francisco can complete a three-game road sweep on Sunday.
Since returning from an 8-2 trip, the Diamondbacks have dropped two to the Giants by a combined score of 9-1.
”An unfortunate offensive night for us once again,” manager Torey Lovullo said. ”We didn’t build as big of innings as last night but we had a couple opportunities and we really couldn’t cash in.”
Rodriguez (3-1), the son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan ”Pudge” Rodriguez
A'Shawn Robinson Jersey , dominated in his sixth major league start. He allowed six hits in 6 1/3 innings, struck out five and walked two. In his last two starts, the 26-year-old right-hander has given up one run in 13 1/3 innings.
Miller (0-2) was tagged for six runs and seven hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked one, throwing 96 pitches. In his debut Monday night at Miami, Miller gave up five runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings of a 9-5 loss to the Marlins.
Miller said he is past being satisfied with getting through an outing healthy.
”We are getting close to the All-Star break and we are playing division teams that are right behind us trying to get first place away from us and I am going out there and not pitching well,” he said. ”That is more what I am upset about. I am not really focused on the little positives that I can take from coming back from a major surgery, which is a pretty big deal, but it is getting at that point in the season where we have to win ballgames, and every single one that we can.”
Crawford and McCutchen each had a solo home run off Miller – Crawford in the second and McCutchen in the fourth.
Arizona’s real trouble came in San Francisco’s four-run third, which included five singles. One of them, a dribbler up the middle by Pablo Sandoval, drove in two runs. Crawford walked with the bases loaded to bring in another run.
ROTATION QUESTIONS
With right-handers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija due back from the disabled list soon, there might not be room for Rodriguez and/or Suarez in the rotation.
”We want our guys back but at the same time when they’re throwing like this it does give you the luxury of making sure your guys are ready,” Bochy said. ”Depth is going to be so important. We’re at the halfway point. You never know what can happen and it’s been great the way Suarez and Rodriguez have come up here and handled themselves.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: Cueto (right elbow sprain) threw four scoreless innings Friday night in his second rehab appearance for Triple-A Sacramento. He allowed four hits, struck out six and walked one.
Diamondbacks: INF Ketel Marte left with a right leg injury after beating out an infield single leading off the seventh. He was able to walk off under his own power. Lovullo said afterward it was a cramp and Marte is day to day. … CF A.J. Pollock (broken left thumb) went 0 for 4 with Triple-A Reno in his first rehab game Friday night.
UP NEXT
Left-hander Derek Holland (5-7
Nevin Lawson Jersey , 4.24 ERA) starts for the Giants in their bid for a three-game sweep. RHP Zack Godley (9-5, 4.58) goes for Arizona.
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The Bengals resolved their biggest offseason question when they gave coach Marvin Lewis a two-year extension through 2019 on Tuesday, providing him yet another chance – a 16th, actually – to try to get a playoff win.
There are a lot of issues to work through before they can even think in those terms.
The contract extension came after two days of discussions between Lewis and owner Mike Brown about how the franchise has to change.
It’s unclear if Brown – a traditionalist who likes to stay with the familiar, including head coaches – will cede much control to Lewis.
Lewis has been the head coach for the past 15 seasons – the second-longest active tenure in the NFL to New England’s Bill Belichick – and was the key to changing Cincinnati from a down-and-out team to respectability.
He hasn’t been able to take it to that next step – win a playoff game. Lewis is 0-7 in the playoffs, the worst coaching mark in NFL history. He wanted to make sure that he and Brown were on the same page about making changes coming off a 7-9 season that ended with their stadium half-empty.
Players realized that a coaching change could ripple through everything.
”You’re going to be going with a new head coach, it could be a completely new staff … there’s just a lot of uncertainty with that,” quarterback Andy Dalton said. ”I think that’s the biggest thing is just the unknown.”
Instead, Brown decided to stay with what’s familiar. And now, there are some big offseason challenges.
WHO’S COORDINATING? Lewis’ assistants are up for contract renewals, too. The biggest question is who will be the offensive coordinator next season. Dalton and the offense were best when Hue Jackson was the coordinator in 2015 – Dalton led the AFC in passer rating. Jackson went to Cleveland, and the offense became less creative and less productive under Ken Zampese, who was fired after an 0-2 start this season. Replacement Bill Lazor was confined by Zampese’s system, but got more out of it. Still, the Bengals finished last in the NFL in offense for only the second time in club history. They need a coordinator who can redesign and rejuvenate the offense.
WHAT ABOUT THE O-LINE? The Bengals knew that the offensive line was going to be a work in progress with two inexperienced tackles. It was far worse than they’d hoped
Taylor Decker Jersey , unable to protect Dalton or open holes for a running game that was the worst in club history. The offensive line is the first focus of the offseason.
DALTON’S BACKUP: The Bengals have been fortunate at quarterback, with Dalton avoiding significant injury over his career. The one time he got hurt – a broken thumb near the end of the 2015 season – AJ McCarron took over and led the team into the playoffs, giving them a sense of comfort should Dalton go down.
McCarron’s contract is up, and there’s a dispute over whether he’s a restricted free agent – which gives the club some control – or unrestricted, which means he can go wherever he wants. McCarron wants to start somewhere, and he knows that it won’t be in Cincinnati. A ruling on his status will come down mid-February and set everything in motion.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT BURFICT? The Bengals’ most valuable defensive player was again one of its least dependable because of suspension, ejection and injuries.
Linebacker Vontaze Burfict’s no-holds-barred style of play got him another three-game suspension, an in-game ejection, and a series of injuries, limiting him to 10 games. He finished with only 1+ sacks. In 2016, he missed five games because of suspension and injury. He’s not going to change his style of play, which means the defense is never sure how much it can count on him week to week.
THE FANS: Attendance dropped significantly at Paul Brown Stadium, which was half-empty for the final game. The Bengals aren’t going to sell tickets until fans are convinced that significant changes are on the way. How do the Bengals get them back while bringing back Lewis?
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