SAN DIEGO -- Two members of the Pirates’ pitching rotation are on the injured list. A third has yet to have an effective outing after his own IL stint.

It’s the kind of situation that calls for a stopper -- a command performance that keeps a sinking rotation afloat. And up stepped … Jordan Lyles?

Yes, Lyles played that role to perfection Friday night as he struck out a career-high 12 batters in a season-high seven innings to lead the Pirates to a 5-3 victory over the Padres at Petco Park. Lyles allowed five hits, one run and one walk while lowering his ERA to 1.97 and improving his record to 4-1.

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“Complete command from the start to the end,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “Efficient, power -- the curveball played big time. He threw some sliders. He used his changeup. He moved his fastball around. He elevated it. It was just a really well-pitched game.”

Lyles wasn’t perfect. The 28-year-old right-hander gave Franmil Reyes a first-pitch fastball he could handle in the first inning, and Reyes blasted it 420 feet to center field for his 14th homer of the year. But no more extra-base hits followed as the strikeouts piled up.

“He threw strikes -- fastballs up, curveballs down mostly,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “We didn't have great at-bats against him.”

That’s a difficult pill for the Padres to swallow, as Lyles was on their side as recently as last August. It’s those high fastballs that have made Lyles a different pitcher from when he shuttled between the Padres’ rotation and bullpen from 2017-18.

“After I left here, I’ve definitely been pitching up in the zone a little bit more,” Lyles said. “Pitching up in the zone, I think, makes my other pitches a little bit better. It offsets guys looking out over [the plate]. That’s the main thing I can point my finger at.”

Of Lyles’ 12 strikeouts -- the most by a Pirates pitcher since Francisco Liriano had 12 vs. the Brewers on July 21, 2016 -- eight ended on curves. Seven were swinging strikes on curves. Yet Hurdle backed Lyles’ assessment that the high fastballs are key.

“The pitch that actually sets it up is the fastball,” Hurdle said. “He’s had games where he continues to pound the curveball, but it’s not in play. Tonight, the fastball command was good and the curveball had tight spin and had late tilt. He threw it for strikes in the bottom of the zone; he bounced it when he wanted to.”

Pirates rookie left fielder Bryan Reynolds countered the Reyes homer with a shot to center in the fourth inning. That 415-footer off Padres starter Joey Lucchesi came with Josh Bell on base and staked Lyles to a 2-1 lead he never relinquished. Melky Cabrera’s RBI double in the eighth gave the Pirates’ bullpen a bit of breathing room, and the Bucs tacked on two more runs in the ninth before Ty France made it close again with a two-run homer in the bottom half of the ninth.

Lyles joined the Pirates as a free agent last winter on a one-year, $2.05 million contract. Last August, he was cut loose by the Padres and finished the year in Milwaukee as a waiver claim. The Pirates are Lyles’ fifth organization, but it’s not quite right to call him a journeyman. He was, after all, a first-round Draft pick of the Astros at age 17 in 2008. Perhaps it’s more appropriate to call him a pitcher on a journey rather than a journeyman.

If Pittsburgh is Lyles’ ultimate destination, he arrived at just the right time. Trevor Williams (right side strain) went to the injured list on Friday, joining Jameson Taillon (right flexor tendon strain). Chris Archer has only one start under his belt since an IL stint because of thumb inflammation. That leaves Joe Musgrove and Lyles as the only active starters delivering consistent results when their turn comes.

“This is a tough year for us, a lot of injuries,” Lyles said. “I’m trying to do what I can and continue to do the things that have gotten me to this point this season, continue to put my best foot forward.”

He took another step in the right direction Friday.