Giants' Dereck Rodriguez: Could start Sunday
Rodriguez (leg) could start Sunday's game against the Phillies, Henry Schulman of SFGate.com reports.
He took a line drive off his right leg Tuesday against the Rockies, but not before giving up four runs (only one earned) off five hits and one walk while striking out four over 3.1 innings. Rodriguez had logged a 3.40 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 53 strikeouts in 50.1 innings (nine starts) at Triple-A prior to his promotion. He was essentially a non-prospect before the season, but may have unlocked something after joining the Giants this past offseason, as his strikeout rate was up from 19.3 percent in 2017 at Double-A in the Twins organization to 25 percent in his first taste of Triple-A as a San Francisco farmhand. Even if he gets the start Sunday, it would likely amount to a spot start unless he really impressed, as the Giants rotation is expected to get back Madison Bumgarner (finger) and Jeff Samardzija (shoulder) next week.