After winning three of four games against the Chicago Cubs last weekend, the Pittsburgh Pirates returned home to PNC Park, looking to carry over that momentum onto a successful home stand. Unfortunately, the Bucs haven’t won a game since. They followed up their three game sweep courtesy of the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week with a 7-3 loss to the San Diego Padres in their series opener last night on the north shore.
Zach Thompson started for Pittsburgh, giving up four runs on three hits and two walks in 4.1 innings. His mound opponent, Yu Darvish, last six innings, giving up three runs on eight hits. Once again, it was a bullpen game for the Bucs, having used a total of five pitchers on the night.
Pittsburgh got off to a good start with a pair of runs in the first inning. Singles by Daniel Vogelbach and Diego Castillo each scored a run, but the lead would only last a couple of innings.
A two run homerun by Ha-Seong Kim tied the game in the third inning, and Jake Cronenworth’s single gave the Padres a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly later in the inning added another run, making it 4-2.
Vogelbach’s single in the bottom of the fifth scored Bryan Reynolds to cut the Padres’ lead in half, but that was as close as the Bucs would get on the night.
A RBI single by Trayce Thompson in the fifth and a solo homerun by Cronenworth in the seventh put a ribbon on this one for San Diego.
The Pirates have now lost four straight games and really need a strong performance on the mound to right the ship and come away with a victory. They will hand the ball to JT Brubaker on Saturday, who will oppose Sean Manaea for San Diego.
Record vs. Padres: 0-1
Record vs. N.L. West: 0-1
Record at Home: 4-6
Overall Record: 8-12
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
