Giants' Landen Roupp eager to give bullpen a breather vs. Reds

Right-hander Landen Roupp will attempt to duplicate the scoreless starts of his two teammates the past two nights -- but with a different personal ending -- when the San Francisco Giants vie for a series sweep of the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday afternoon.

The Giants have exhausted their bullpen in 5-0 and 3-1 wins to begin the set, clinching their first series win in August after seven series defeats -- including three at home.

Left-hander Carson Whisenhunt lasted just eight outs and 47 pitches before suffering what turned out to be a UCL tear in his pitching elbow in the third inning of Monday's win, leaving with a 5-0 lead. Jason Foley, Reiver Sanmartin, Ryan Walker, Carson Seymour and Dylan Smith completed the six-man shutout with 6 1/3 innings of three-hit relief.

Just five outs (26 pitches) into Tuesday's rematch, Adrian Houser was forced to make the same painful mid-inning walk from the mound to the dugout. Giants manager Tony Vitello said Houser was experiencing tightness in his right forearm.

Houser also delivered a lead -- 2-0 this time -- to his bullpen, then watched Anthony Molina, Sam Hentges, Trent Harris and Seymour again hold it the rest of the way.

The rewards -- other than the Giants' first winning streak since July 29-30 -- were a first win of the season for Foley, a first career save for Seymour and a surprising effort by Molina, a minor-league call-up who acknowledged he was pouring an early-game coffee when the call came for him to get ready in a hurry.

"Just got here yesterday, get him out there in an awkward situation ... he handled it like a champ," Vitello told the media afterward about Molina. "The biggest thing was he flooded the strike zone. When our young guys had to, they played really good defense behind him. But in order to get that opportunity, you have to attack the strike zone, and he was good with that."

Although he has lost his last five starts, Roupp (7-13, 4.34 ERA) has pitched into the sixth inning in each of his three most recent outings. The Giants have scored a total of just four runs in those three starts.

Roupp went six shutout innings, allowing just one hit, in a 3-0 win at Cincinnati on April 16. He has an 0.75 ERA in two career starts against the Reds, but only split decisions.

The Reds will counter with left-hander Nick Lodolo (3-3, 5.04 ERA) in the series finale. He is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three lifetime starts against the Giants.

The California native would be wise to start strong, as the Giants have scored seven of their eight runs in the first two innings of their back-to-back wins. Lodolo has allowed just five runs in the first inning of his 15 starts this season.

As they fall further out of playoff contention, several Reds have milestones in sight, including rookie Sal Stewart, whose home run in Tuesday's loss moved him within two of reaching 30 for the season.

Cincinnati veteran Emilio Pagan says it's OK to swing for individual success, as long as each player understands the ultimate goal over the final 29 games.

"I think as long as you're approaching it with a team mentality first, (the attitude needs to be:) 'I do this really well and so I want to do that really well to help my team. And in return, that's going to benefit me individually in my career,'" Pagan said.

--Field Level Media