Pirates End Winning Streak in Shutout to Padres
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have played well so far at home in 2026, but struggled in this matchup with the San Diego Padres.
The Pirates suffered a 5-0 loss to the San Diego Padres in the series opener at PNC Park, with some big missed opportunities at the plate and then some struggles on the mound as well.
Pittsburgh loses their first game at PNC Park this season, as they swept the Baltimore Orioles in their first series at home in 2026.
It also ends a five-game winning streak for the Pirates, which extended back to the final two games of their series with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, March 31-April, dropping them to 6-4 in their first 10 games of 2026.
Bubba Chandler' Shaky Outing vs. the Padres
Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Bubba Chandler threw three scoreless innings to start out with, giving up a single and a walk in the second inning and a single in the third inning, but getting out of each jam unscathed.
That changed in the fourth inning, as he walked third baseman Manny Machado and gave up a single to shortstop Xander Bogaerts with one out, got a force out at second base from first baseman Gavin Sheets, then allowed an RBI-double to right fielder Nick Castellanos, giving the Padres a 1-0 lead.
Chandler then gave up two walks in the top of the fifth inning and a ground-rule double to center fielder Jackson Merrill, as the Padres doubled their lead at 2-0.
Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds could've made the catch, but fell on the warning track and misplayed it, allowing to end up as a ground-rule double.
Manager Don Kelly took Chandler out for right-handed relief pitcher Yohan Ramírez, who got the final two outs of the inning, with a ground out scoring another run, making it 3-0 to San Diego.
Chandler finished with three earned runs allowed in the loss, the second-most for him in a MLB start and also walked four batters.
He has walked 10 batters over 10.1 innings in 2026, after only walking four batters over 31.0 innings in 2025, as command has been an issue for the young ace.
Chandler is still heavily relying on the four-seam fastball, which is regularly reaching 100 mph, but also means he isn't trusting his offspeed as much.
He only threw his changeup 18% of the time and his slider 16% of the time, for a combined 34%, which is still low for a pitcher who had great success with his offspeed pitches last season.
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Four-Seam Fastball | 55/83 (66%) | 99.1 mph |
Changeup | 15/83 (18%) | 92.9 mph |
Slider | 13/83 (16%) | 90.1 mph |
The Padres added two more runs in the win, as second baseman Jake Cronenworth hit an RBI-double off of Ramírez in the top of the sixth inning and left fielder Ramón Laureano hit an RBI-double off of Pirates right-handed relief pitcher Justin Lawrence in the top of the eighth inning.
Pirates Mess Up Opportunities At the Plate
The Pirates had a chance to take the lead against the Padres in the bottom of the second inning, as right fielder Ryan O'Hearn led off with a walk and third baseman Nick Gonzales singled with one out.
First baseman Spencer Horwitz then singled to right field, which came off of Sheets, that O'Hearn should've scored on to give the Pirates a 1-0 advantage.
Pirates third base coach Tony Beasley told O'Hearn to come back, but Gonzales had already rounded third base, so O'Hearn went back home, where he was easily tagged out.
Shortstop Konnor Griffin then grounded out in the next at-bat, stranding two runners.
Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe and Reynolds hit back-to-back singles with two outs in the bottom of the third inning, and Lowe even moved to second base on a wild pitch from Padres right-handed starting pitcher Germán Márquez, but O'Hearn struck out to end that chance.
Center fielder Oneil Cruz hit a single with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning and then stole both second and third base after a throwing error from Padres catcher Freddy Fermín, but Lowe popped out and Reynolds flew out to miss another scoring opportunity.
O'Hearn ledoff the bottom of the sixth inning with a double, but only got as far as third base, as designated hitter Marcell Ozuna grounded out and both Gonzales and Horwitz flew out.
Pittsburgh had one more chance in the bottom of the eighth inning, as Lowe and Reynolds ledoff with walks, but O'Hearn hit into a double play and then Ozuna grounded out.
Ozuna went 0-for-4 in the game, with just two hits in 34 at-bats for a .058 batting average on the season, after signing a one-year, $12 million deal this winter.
The Pirates went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position (RISP) and left nine runners on base in the defeat to the Padres.
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.