Padres, Giants finish series with another pitching rematch

Two impressive young pitchers looking for more offensive support go head-to-head Wednesday afternoon when the San Diego Padres and host San Francisco Giants complete a three-game series at Oracle Park.

For the third straight day, the game features the same pitching pairing as in the clubs' earlier series in San Diego, with Padres left-hander Nick Margevicius (0-1, 1.80) dueling Giants righty Dereck Rodriguez (1-1, 5.23).

Both pitched well in the first meeting, with Margevicius getting the better of the stats but Rodriguez taking the win when the Giants prevailed 3-2 -- their only win in the four-game series.

Making his major league debut, Margevicius shut out the Giants on two hits through five innings before giving up a leadoff single to Steven Duggar in the sixth inning of a scoreless game.

He was pulled on the spot, having thrown 72 pitches. Duggar would come around to score -- one of three Giants runs in the inning -- tagging Margevicius with his only run allowed and, ultimately, the loss.

The 22-year-old pitched even better in his second start, but the one hit he gave up went for a home run by Paul DeJong, and that was enough to keep Margevicius from getting the win in an eventual 5-3 Padres victory.

In their effort to help the prospect get his first major league win, the Padres will trot out their third different middle-infield combination on Wednesday. This time, Fernando Tatis Jr. won't be in the starting lineup, while Luis Urias moves over to shortstop and Ian Kinsler plays second base.

Even just 12 games into the season, Padres manager Andy Green insists it's important to keep players fresh.

"You look at his body," Green said to reporters before Tuesday's game about Tatis. "It's alive, it's twitchy, it's 20 years old, and you go, 'He'll be fine. Let him go.' But it will be good for him from time to time take a rest. That's something organizationally we decided.

"He's never done 162 (games). He doesn't know what that feels like in August and September -- the pressure and the grind. He's going to handle that great. We think he's going to be better positioned to handle it if we get him some days here and there."

The Giants have totaled just five runs in Rodriguez's two starts. But they have shown offensive improvement in the first two games of the current series, scoring five runs in Monday's loss and seven in Tuesday's win.

Newcomers Kevin Pillar and Tyler Austin, who have forced awkward adjustments in the field, have proven their worth at the plate.

Austin has hits in both his games for the Giants after being acquired from Minnesota on Monday, while Pillar, picked up last week from Toronto, was a one-man wrecking crew in Tuesday's 7-2 win, driving in four runs with a bases-clearing double and a sacrifice fly.

The moves are drawing praise for new Giants decision-maker Farhan Zaidi, who just two weeks earlier had been criticized for a relatively quiet offseason.

"The availability of options sometimes doesn't line up with your schedule and what's convenient for you," Zaidi assured reporters this week.

Rodriguez has started three games against the Padres in his brief career, going 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA.

--Field Level Media