Padres vs. Pirates Recap: San Diego’s Late-Inning Surge Secures 8-2 Win
Eric Evelhoch
Host · Writer
In response to being shut out, the San Diego Padres put up their two highest scoring innings of the season, plating four runs in the seventh and ninth innings to top the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2 on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park.
Starters Michael King and Mitch Keller were strong for their respective sides, each throwing six scoreless innings. Then Nick Castellanos and Jake Cronenworth each drove in a pair of runs, with Cronenworth’s coming on his first home run of the season.
Eight different players scored, as all but one of the starting lineup notched a hit for the Padres (6-6), who took advantage of three errors by the Pirates (7-5) and scored four unearned runs.
The seventh started with Xander Bogaerts reaching on an error by shortstop Nick Gonzalez, then Miguel Andujar doubled. Castellanos knocked the run-scoring double and Cronenworth followed with his two-run shot to right-center field off reliever Justin Lawrence, who took the loss.
Then in the ninth, Castellanos reached on an error and was pinch-run for by Bryce Johnson. Luis Campusano followed by lining an RBI double, Fernando Tatis Jr. delivered an RBI single. Jackson Merrill reached on a fielder’s choice on a Nick Yorke error, then, when Merrill stole second, Tatis also scored on the Padres’ fifth and sixth stolen bases of the day.
King allowed a lead-off single and a double in the seventh, but earned his first win of the season, finishing his line at six innings of four hits with two runs allowed, four strikeouts, and three walks on 95 pitches. More importantly, he was able to work through a pair of early-inning jams.
First there was the second inning, where Yorke led off with a double and Spencer Horowitz reached on a fielder’s choice. But King rallied and won an eight-pitch at bat against Joey Bart by finally getting a foul-tip strikeout on a low changeup.
The next inning started with a double again, as this time Oneil Cruz reached to pull a low and away changeup to right field. Bryan Reynolds drew a one-out walk on four pitches, but he was erased and the side retired when King got Ryan O’Hearn to bounce into a three-six-one double play.
From there, King sat down the next nine batters he faced. It included a challenge win in the fourth that became a double play, as well as Luis Campusano winning an ABS challenge that ended the fifth inning and punched out Cruz.
But the Padres offense didn’t manage much against Keller, who retired them in order in three of his six innings. He did not allow a run on three hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
The Pirates’ runs in the seventh came on a Yorke leadoff single and a Gonzalez double that ended King’s afternoon. Kyle Hart came in and faced pinch-hitter super rookie Konnor Griffin, whose sac fly could’ve been more but for Laureano making a sliding catch, then Bart singled. It could’ve been worse, as Hart walked Jake Mangum, but was able to get Cruz to ground into a fielder’s choice and Brandon Lowe to fly out.
Jeremiah Estrada allowed a hit in a scoreless eighth for his first hold of the season, then Mason Miller got the final three outs in order in his hometown, though his streak of consecutive strikeouts ended at 12.
Manny Machado was given the day off, with Andujar starting at third and collecting a pair of hits.
Having finished the road trip going 4-2, the Padres return to Petco Park to face the Colorado Rockies on Thursday, April 9. Randy Vásquez will throw the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. and the Rockies have yet to announce a starter for the first part of a four-game series.
