PHOENIX_A minor league free agent. A converted outfielder. A pitcher who had never even logged an inning at Triple-A.
Before the season began, that was Dereck Rodriguez's resume.
He hasn't wasted much time exceeding every reasonable expectation.
After tossing 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks, Rodriguez earned his third career big league win and helped the Giants to their 10th shutout victory of the year in a 7-0 final.
With their ninth win in their last 11 games, the Giants moved into a virtual tie for second-place in the National League West and secure their fourth road series win of the season a year after San Francisco recorded just three series victories away from AT&T Park.
Although the Giants' road woes this season are well-documented, manager Bruce Bochy's squad arrived at Chase Field determined to continue a run that helped them keep pace with the hottest team in the National League West.
The Dbacks opened the weekend having won 20 of their last 29 games, but they couldn't break away from their competitors within the division thanks to surges by the Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.
With a series-opening win Friday behind rookie Andrew Suarez against Arizona lefty Patrick Corbin, the Giants picked up their 17th victory of the month, matching their total from June of 2016, the last time the club finished a month with a record above .500.
The Giants did themselves an early favor in their quest for win No. 18 Saturday, batting around in the top of the third en route to a four-run frame that eased the pressure on the rookie Rodriguez.
After nearly winning National League Player of the Month honors in May, shortstop Brandon Crawford continued his torrid pace throughout June. He put an exclamation point on the month with a solo home run to open the second inning against Dbacks starter Shelby Miller, blasting a 418-foot home run into the pool area at Chase Field.
Crawford's 10th home run of the season required him to dig down and launch a curveball that dropped in below the strike zone, but his ability to lay off pitches led to the Giants' second run.
After three straight hits loaded the bases in the third inning, Crawford took four consecutive balls from Miller to plate Buster Posey.
The Giants continued to capitalize on Miller's location mistakes, as Pablo Sandoval drove in a pair of runs with a single and Joe Panik brought home another with a 402-foot sacrifice fly. In the eighth inning, Panik hit a ball 365 feet, but it skipped off the top of the right field wall and over the fence for his fourth home run of the year and his first since April 3.
Andrew McCutchen added to the onslaught in the fourth, launching a two-out solo shot into the right field bleachers to push the Giants ahead 6-0. McCutchen's second hit of the night capped off his best month with the Giants, as the right fielder recorded 35 hits, posted a .305 average and hit six of his nine home runs in June.
As the battle for spots in the Giants' rotation heats up, Rodriguez made another significant statement Saturday with his second straight quality start and his fourth of his brief career.
Despite earning a non-roster invitation to spring training, Rodriguez hardly pitched for the Giants in Cactus League play as he appeared in just four games. Still, he found time to make an impression on the club's decision-makers, earning a start on March 21 at Salt River Fields against the Dbacks.
With three innings of scoreless work against a solid Arizona lineup featuring several regular starters, Rodriguez proved to the Giants he could get big league hitters out. Perhaps more importantly, a right-hander who had never thrown an inning above Double-A convinced himself he was capable of pitching at the highest level.
It took nine Triple-A starts and a handful of injuries on the Giants' staff for Rodriguez to receive a promotion, but he debuted in Denver on May 29 and has been a pleasant surprise for a San Francisco team that needed more young energy.
The emergence of Rodriguez and Suarez has solidified the Giants rotation and played a pivotal role in ensuring June was the franchise's most successful month in two years.
After Rodriguez joined the club, the Giants staff completed a remarkable turnaround as the team entered Saturday's contest with a 2.80 ERA in June, the second-best mark in the major leagues after San Francisco finished May with a 5.39 mark.
