SAN DIEGO (AP) — Nick Pivetta struck out eight in five sharp innings and Ramón Laureano hit a two-run home run for the San Diego Padres, who beat the San Francisco Giants 7-1 Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep.
The Padres and their rookie manager, Craig Stammen, were outscored 12-5 in losing the first two games of the series to the Giants and their rookie skipper, Tony Vitello. The Giants, in turn, had been outscored 13-1 in getting swept by the New York Yankees in their opening series.
Pivetta (1-1) bounced back from a rough opening day start, when he allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings of an 8-2 home loss to Detroit.
His second start was much better. He allowed just a single to former Padres teammate Luis Arraez leading off the second and walked two.
Arraez had three of the Giants’ four hits and was the only San Francisco baserunner to reach scoring position, doing so three times. The Giants struck out 14 times.
After Jeremiah Estrada pitched a perfect sixth, Arraez opened the seventh with a leadoff double down the right field line off Adrian Morejon, advanced on a groundout and scored on Harrison Bader’s two-out single to left.
Mason Miller got the final four outs for his second save. Miller struck out the side in the ninth after allowing Arraez’s leadoff single.
Laureano got the four-run eighth going with a two-run homer off José Buttó, his second of the season. Buttó walked the bases loaded and then allowed Fernando Tatis Jr.’s RBI infield single and Xander Bogaerts’ RBI walk.
Gavin Sheets doubled twice and drove in a run off Adrian Houser (0-1), who was making his Giants debut. Sheets doubled in Laureano in the sixth.
San Diego’s first two runs were unearned because of two infield errors.
Houser allowed three runs, one earned, and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Up next
Giants RHP Robbie Ray (0-1, 3.38 ERA) opens a home series against the New York Mets on Thursday night. Padres RHP Michael King is scheduled to start Friday’s matinee series opener at Boston.
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