"It was a lot of fun," said Stauffer. "We were in the thick of [the National League West race], and every game was fun."
Stauffer's final start of 2010 was his most challenging. Pitching in front of a raucous San Francisco crowd anticipating their team's NL West championship-clinching victory, Stauffer limited the Giants to one run on three hits in 6.1 innings of work as San Diego pulled out a 4-2 victory.
"That atmosphere was as close as you can get to the playoffs," said Stauffer. "It was a lot of fun to go out there and pitch well to get the win."
That performance capped a 2010 season that began with Stauffer making the Padres' opening day roster for the first time in his professional baseball career, but as a reliever instead of as a starter. Then, an appendectomy in May shelved Stauffer for more than a month.
"It was just unfortunate about the timing of [the appendectomy], but I got it fixed up and taken care of," said Stauffer.
Once he was fully healed, Stauffer returned to the bullpen where he re-settled into his role as a middle reliever. That lasted until Sept. 6 when he got to start against the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Diego. Stauffer pitched the first four innings and allowed one run on four hits in a 4-2 Padres' victory.
"It was a change for him," Rick said of his son's bullpen stint. "I think it was sort of a blessing in disguise because that was the first time he started the season with the [Padres]. Coming in from the bullpen helped him get over the mentality of dwelling over a loss because he knew he could come back in the next day. I think it really helped him to round into a major league player."
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