BASEBALL: Newly promoted Trevor McDonald pitches Giants past Padres

Minor league call-up Trevor McDonald delivered a standout performance, allowing just two hits over seven innings, while Casey Schmitt homered as the San Francisco Giants opened a six-game homestand with a 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Monday.

Rafael Devers drove in Luis Arraez twice with a single and a sacrifice fly, teaming with Schmitt to account for all of San Francisco’s offense. McDonald (1-0), along with two relievers, used that support to help the Giants snap a six-game losing streak.

San Diego struck first when Jackson Merrill homered on McDonald’s sixth pitch of the game, but the Giants responded immediately with two runs in the bottom of the first to take a lead they would not relinquish.

Schmitt tied the game with his fifth home run of the season off Padres starter Randy Vasquez on just the ninth pitch of the at-bat. Arraez followed with a double, and Devers delivered an RBI single to center to give San Francisco the lead.

The Giants added their final run in the sixth inning. Arraez doubled again, moved to third on a groundout by Heliot Ramos, and scored on a Devers fly ball to right field.

Devers’ two-RBI performance marked his first multi-RBI game in nearly a month, since a four-RBI outing against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 8.

Making his first major league appearance of the season after being promoted from Triple-A Sacramento earlier in the day, McDonald matched his career high with seven innings pitched. He allowed only the first-inning run, struck out eight, and did not issue a walk. The only other hit he surrendered was a single to Merrill leading off the fourth inning.

Giants reliever Keaton Winn needed just eight pitches to complete a perfect eighth inning. Caleb Kilian gave up a leadoff home run to Ramón Laureano in the ninth but retired the next three batters—two via strikeout—to secure the win. Kilian, in his fourth major league season, earned his first career save.

The home runs were the fourth of the season for Merrill and the fifth for Laureano.

Vasquez (3-1) took the loss after allowing all three Giants runs over 5 2/3 innings. He gave up five hits, walked two, and struck out two.

Arraez and Merrill were the only players in the game with multiple hits. San Francisco finished with six hits, while San Diego managed just three as the Padres dropped their fifth game in six outings. -Field Level Media/Reuters