Pirates Ruin Konnor Griffin Extension Day With Blowout to Padres
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates secured the services of their top prospect for years to come, but forget about getting the win in the next game they played.
The Pirates signed shortstop Konnor Griffin to a record contract extension, fell to the San Diego Padres at PNC Park by a score of 8-2, thanks to a poor showing from the bullpen and a lackluster offense throughout.
Griffin, who stays with the Pirates on a nine-year, $140 million contract, didn't start in this game, but came on later on as a pinch-hitter and stayed at shortstop for the final two innings.
The Pirates drop the series to the Padres, after losing 5-0 in the series opener on April 6, and finish their homestand 4-2, after they swept the Baltimore Orioles, April 3-5.
Mitch Keller Has Another Strong Start
Keller has been consistent for the Pirates this season, getting outs, inducing weak contact and taking on a good chunk of innings.
He did that again in his start vs. the Padres, allowing just three hits and a walk over six scoreless innings, earning his third quality start of the season and dropping his ERA to 1.00.
His four strikeouts give him 848 in his Pirates career, moving up to 11th all-time in franchise hostyr.
Keller got out of some trouble throughout, such as giving up a leadoff double to Padres first baseman Gavin Sheets in the top of the second inning and then getting three straight outs.
He also allowed a single and a walk with one out in the top of the fifth inning, then got a strikeout and a fly out, then allowed a leadoff single to Padres left fielder Ramón Laureano, who stole second base and third base, but Keller retired the side with a pop out and a fly out.
Keller, surprisingly, didn't come back out for the seventh inning, despite only throwing 75 pitches, and the Pirates would've benefitted from him returning to the mound.
He relied mostly on his sweeper and four-seam fastball, while also using his sinker too for his effective outing.
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Sweeper | 23/75 (31%) | 82.2 mph |
Four-Seam Fastball | 23/75 (31%) | 92.9 mph |
Sinker | 19/75 (25%) | 91.8 mph |
Changeup | 5/75 (7%) | 88.6 mph |
Curveball | 5/75 (7%) | 77.8 mph |
Pirates Fall Behind After Keller Comes Out
Pirates manager Don Kelly brought right-handed relief pitcher Justin Lawrence in the top of the seventh inning to follow Keller and he did not have his best stuff in this appearance out of the bullpen.
Lawrence got a ground ball from shortstop Xander Bogaerts, but Pirates shortstop Nick Gonzales threw it too wide and Bogaerts made it to first base safely on the rror.
He then gave up back-to-back doubles to third baseman Miguel Andujar and right fielder Nick Castellanos, who scored both Bogaerts and Andujar to give the Padres a 2-0 lead.
Lawrence then allowed a two-run home run to second baseman Jake Cronenworth on a 93.4 mph four-seam fastball down in the zone, which saw the Pirates trail 4-0.
He got back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning, but still took three earned runs and had his ERA jump up to 9.53.
Right-handed pitcher José Urquidy came in the eighth inning, which he got out of scoreless, but would give up four runs in the ninth inning, only one of which was earned, thanks to two errors, one from Griffin and another from Nick Yorke, who moved to first base from third base.
Pirates Offensive Struggles vs. Padres
The Pirates had chances to take the lead early on, such as Yorke leading off the bottom of the second inning with a double and first baseman Spencer Horwitz reaching on a fielder's choice, but catcher Joey Bart struck out and left fielder Jake Mangum flew out.
Center fielder Oneil Cruz ledoff the bottom of the third inning with a double and left fielder Bryan Reynolds walked, but designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn hit into a double play to end that chance.
The Pirates finally got going at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Yorke ledoff with a single and then Gonzales hit a double, putting two runners in scoring position.
Griffin came on as a pinch-hitter in the first at-bat since he signed his massive contract extension, and it ended up as a sacrifice fly, scoring Yorke to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Bart came through with a single himself, halving the Padres' lead to just 4-2 and Mangum walked, but Cruz hit into a force out and then second baseman Brandon Lowe flew out to cut the rally short and end the inning.
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.