Livan Hernandez is not the pitcher you want to be facing when your problem is jumping at the first thing you see.
The ace of the Washington Nationals does not blind you with velocity. Just the opposite.
“He lulls you to sleep,” Dave Roberts said yesterday morning as the Padres prepared for the rubber match of the three-game series at Petco Park. “You have to wait and wait, then wait some more.”
That's exactly what Brian Giles hadn't been doing while hitting .269 with one homer among six extra-base hits since the All-Star break.
JIM BAIRD / Union-Tribune
After scoring the winning run in the 10th inning, Dave Roberts is congratulated by Mike Cameron.
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“I've been going bad,” Giles admitted. “I've been too quick. I've had difficulty staying back on the ball. I don't think it was a problem of staying back as much as loading up. I'd lose balance with my legs.”
It didn't help that one of those legs has been operating with a hamstring strain.
But the ills that have been plaguing Giles – and the Padres – were at least temporarily solved with two swings by Giles.
The first created a two-run homer against Hernandez that erased six innings of mesmerizing shutout ball spun by the Cuban expatriate. The second was a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning off left-handed reliever Micah Bowie that gave the Padres a 3-2 victory and a split of the six-game homestand.
Only time will tell how many demons Giles – with a huge assist from Roberts – exorcised with the two swings that capped his first three-hit game since July 16 and his first three-RBI game since June 2.
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Padres 3, Nationals 2 (10)
Yesterday: Strong pitching performances from Jake Peavy and five relievers nudge Padres past Nationals.
Today: No game.
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The homer off Hernandez, for example, was only Giles' second home run since that June 2 game in Pittsburgh – and his first at Petco since May 27. And he was hitting .193 against left-handers until his liner to center off Bowie.
Which is a story in itself.
Bowie already had pitched two innings in relief of Hernandez when he was sent out to face Roberts in the 10th. The Nationals had right-hander Jon Rauch ready to go in the bullpen. But Roberts hadn't faced many left-handers until right-handed-hitting Eric Young was released last week. And Giles, as noted, was struggling against lefties.
Roberts capped his third three-hit game in four days with a booming double over the head of Ryan Church in center. Giles followed with the winning single to cap a 7-for-14 weekend that the Padres hope will get their keynote hitter rolling.
Because of the right fielder's sudden success, manager Bruce Bochy said he is “inclined” to leave Giles in the No. 2 slot in the order at least through the Padres' visit to New York, which starts tomorrow.
“Giles saved us today,” Bochy said. “And Roberts lifted up the entire club.”
Aside from a strong pitching performance from Jake Peavy and five relievers, the Padres were pretty much the Roberts and Giles Show, although the leadoff man had one embarrassing moment in the fourth when he struck out with the bases loaded and two out on a 59-mph Hernandez curve.
Roberts reached base in each of his other four appearances and stole two bases. He twice scored on hits by Giles, who in the bottom of the sixth promised Peavy that the pitcher wasn't going to fall victim to a second consecutive 1-0 loss.
But until Roberts and Giles struck in the seventh, the Padres could do nothing against Hernandez's lobs.
“We couldn't figure Hernandez out for the longest time, the way he changes speeds,” Bochy said.
Speed might not be the right word. Hernandez's fastball at full volume is a crackling 84 mph. He dropped under 60 on his curve about a half-dozen times.
“He works at about 70 percent,” Bochy said. “He has great feel. He lets the hitters get themselves out with that slowest curve in the league. Today he was taking 20 and 30 mph off his fastball.”
The win allowed the Padres to protect their two-game lead in the National League West as they embark on a six-game trip to New York and Houston.
Bill Center: (619) 293-1851; bill.center@uniontrib.com
