Pirates Drop Series Opener to Padres
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates kept it competitive early on, but faltered in the latter innings, dropping the series opener to the San Diego Padres, 9-4 at PNC Park.
The loss makes it back-to-back and five out of the last six games for the Pirates, who dropped two of three games to both the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road, April 25-27, and to the Chicago Cubs at home, April 29-May 1.
Pittsburgh drops to 12-21 overall and 7-10 at home, while the Padres improve to 20-11 overall and 6-7 on the road.
Pirates starting right-handed pitcher Mitch Keller hit Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. with a pitch, that resulted in a big bump on his right arm, forcing him out of the game in the top of the third inning.
This is the second time Keller has hit an opposing batter this season, as he hit Washington Nationals third baseman Paul DeJong in the face on April 15, forcing DeJong out of the game as well.
The Padres had Oscar González come in as a pinch runner and then first baseman Luis Arráez singled, moving González to third base and putting runners on the corners with two outs. Third baseman Manny Machado failed to capitalize, as he grounded out to end that scoring chance.
Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz would walk with two outs in the bottom of the third inning and then stole his 13th base of the season, tying him for the MLB lead.
Right fielder Bryan Reynolds singled, scoring Cruz to give the Pirates the lead, but got tagged out at second base, ending the inning.
The Padres immediately responded in the top of the fourth inning, as designated hitter Gavin Sheets hit a solo home run, tying it up at 1-1.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts then singled in the next at-bat, stole second base and then moved to third base on a ground out. Center fielder Tyler Wade singled and would score Bogaerts, giving San Diego a 2-1 lead.
The Pirates loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, as catcher Joey Bart walked, third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes hit a ball off Padres right-handed starting pitcher Dylan Cease's glove, reaching first base for a single, and then Cease hit second baseman Adam Frazier with a pitch.
Left fielder Alexander Canario found himself down two strikes, but worked it back and earned a walk, scoring Bart and tying it up at 2-2.
The Padres came back at Keller in the top of the fifth inning, as González singled with one out and then Arráez doubled, scoring González to retake the lead 3-2.
Third baseman Manny Machado singled afterwards, with Cruz just missing the catch on a dive. Reynolds threw it to first baseman Enmanuel Valdez, who missed the ball and it rolled past him, allowing Arráez to score and make it 4-2 to the Padres.
Sheets added on for the Padres with a single, scoring Machado and increasing the road team's advantage to 5-2.
Keller got two more outs and ended his day after five innings, with left-handed pitcher Ryan Borucki coming in relief in the sixth inning. He finished with eight hits, one walk, five runs, four earned runs and one home run allowed, while posting three strikeouts over 88 pitches.
The Pirates started off the bottom of the fifth inning with a walk from Cruz, a single from Reynolds and then both players moving on a base with a steal with no outs. Cruz earned his 14th stolen base, taking the MLB lead in the statistic.
Designated hitter Andrew McCutchen stuck out and then Valdez would ground out to first base, allowing Cruz to score and trim the deficit to 5-3. Bart got hit by a pitch, but Hayes struckout, ending the inning.
Frazier opened the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run into the right field seats, his second of the season, cutting the Padres' lead down to 5-4.
Shortstop Jared Triolo would hit a ball that almost went for a home run, but hit off the left field wall and he ended up with a double with one out. He moved to third base on a ground out from Cruz and Reynolds walked, but McCutchen grounded out, ending another important chance.
The Padres got another chance to score in the eighth inning, as Wade singled and then left fielder Jason Heyward reached on a single and Wade made it to third base on an error from Triolo.
Left fielder Brandon Lockridge then came through with a two-out single, scoring Wade and moving Heyward to third base. Arráez singled after Lockrdige, scoring Heyward and increasing the Padres lead to 8-4.
The Padres added onto their lead in the top of the ninth inning, as Heyward hit a sacrifice fly, making it 9-4.
Pittsburgh and San Diego face off in the second game of the series on May 3, with first pitch set for 4:05 p.m.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.