SAN DIEGO _ The San Diego Padres' Swiss Army Knife pitcher got the win in his second-to-last start of the season.
And not due to anything Robbie Erlin did in his five innings of work on Wednesday, it was more likely than not his second-to-last start with the Padres.
At least scheduled start, in that it is actually impossible to rule out Erlin doing anything. And everything.
"He's a very valuable pitcher," pitching coach Darren Balsley said. "He can spot start, he can come out of the 'pen and go long, he can get one lefty out, he can get a righty out. He can do a lot of things. He's really, really valuable in that combination. He's one of the most valuable pitchers we have. ... There's a trust factor, a reliability factor, and he can do anything. That's a huge plus. He's a utility pitcher."
The left-hander on Wednesday endured a three-run, 25-pitch second inning, which perhaps prevented his going deeper into the 8-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants, though manager Andy Green indicated before the game he was inclined to go to his deep bullpen early prior to a day off.
After Giants starter Chris Stratton hit a bases-loaded double to put San Francisco up 3-0 in the top of the second, the first five Padres batters reached base against Stratton (10-10) in the bottom of the second. Successive RBI singles by Cory Spangenberg and Freddy Galvis and Manuel Margot's sacrifice fly tied the game. Wil Myers added a two run-homer before the inning was finished.
Aramis Garcia's solo home run off Craig Stammen made it a one-run game in the eighth before Freddy Galvis' three-run homer in the bottom of the inning provided the final margin.
What Erlin did Wednesday continued a stretch of overall consistency since he returned to the rotation in early August. It was the sixth time in those nine starts that he went at least five innings.
But really, Wednesday was never going to have much bearing on where Erlin ends up in 2019.
The stats say it. So, essentially, does his manager.
"He very easily could end up in the rotation next year," Green said. "He'll come in and compete for that opportunity. Whether he gets it will be dictated by how he throws, how other guys throw, but also the understanding that Robbie can slide to the bullpen and give us good, effective innings there."
Especially considering how many young starters the Padres will be auditioning next spring and into the season and the fact there are increased rumblings around the majors they are going to shop for starting pitching, it isn't difficult to read between the lines Green drew with that response.
And then there are the stat lines.
In 11 starts this season, Erlin has a 6.66 ERA over 51 1/3 innings.
In 27 appearances out of the bullpen, he was on occasion brought in to just get a couple outs, once pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings and worked enough other scoreless one-, two- and three-inning outings to post a 2.05 ERA in 52 2/3 innings.
Erlin's ability to execute four pitches decently explains both his success as a reliever and his relative shortcomings as a starter.
The four pitches help him mid-game against batters who haven't done extensive preparation for him. But decent pitches aren't good enough to get major league batters out two and three times a game _ especially when those hitters have spent the bulk of their pregame study on him as that day's starting pitcher.
Erlin has allowed a .232 opponent batting average his first time through a lineup, a .322 average his second time through and .400 average when facing a lineup for the third time in a game.
None of the four batters he faced a third time Wednesday got a hit. He just has to be nearly perfect at that point in a game.
Erlin likes to start. It's the role with which he is most familiar.
But he learned to appreciate the reliever role.
And he's happy to have a role.
"What I see in myself _ and I hope other people would see it _ is I see myself as somebody that can take the ball every time he's asked now."
That is not a cliche for a guy who made five appearances in 2016 before Tommy John surgery that kept him out all of last season.
"It's a huge relief," he said. "I don't know if I can explain how much it means to me personally. If there is one thing to take away _ and there are a ton of things to take away from this season _ it is that I'm healthy and feel good. That's great, from a getting-over-the-hump standpoint. ... For me, that's the biggest factor. If I can pick up a ball and throw it every day, and its pain free, I can work on a craft. I can pitch whenever they ask me to pitch."
