Oneil Cruz shattered a scoreless stalemate with a shocking blast off Mason Miller, handing the elite closer a rare loss after a brilliant pitchers' duel in Pittsburgh.
San Diego Padres superstar closer Mason Miller is as automatic as it gets, but not on Tuesday night.
The Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates brought a scoreless tie into the final inning as both starters, Michael King and Paul Skenes, had incredible starts.
Skenes had his best start in months, going six scoreless with just three hits and zero walks. That marked the first time since the start of May where Skenes has allowed zero runs in an outing.
Michael King followed suit, throwing seven scoreless innings, allowing just five hits and two walks while recording seven strikeouts in another brilliant start.
Adrian Morejon threw a scoreless eighth, and Mason Miller came in with the game tied at zero.
Miller got the first two batters out, but Oneil Cruz hit a low changeup on a line drive home run to right field.
That marked the first time in over a year that Miller had allowed a home run, and it marked just the second loss of the season for Miller.
To go further, Miller hadn't allowed a single run since August 8 against the Houston Astros. Even still, his ERA is at 0.96 on the season.
The Padres tried to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, but it didn't work. Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado recorded outs, and Ty France Walked with Jase Bowen pinch-running and moving to second base before Jackson Merrill struck out to end the game.
Following the loss, Padres manager Craig Stammen had an honest take on Miller's outing, although some questioned why he was in the game in a non-save situation.
"He's human," Stammen said, via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.
As for Miller, he regretted throwing the changeup in that spot.
"Humans can be idiots sometimes. Tip your hat. Good swing. Crushed it obviously. But I just can't be throwing that pitch (a changeup) in that spot."
It was also a surprising decision for Stammen to use Miller. The Padres closer pitched for the fourth time in five nights, and on Monday, he threw a scoreless inning, although he tossed 30 pitches in the loss to the Pirates.
It's a pitch Miller would love to have back, but that's the way things go in this league.
The Padres now dropped two straight, and they finished the series on Wednesday afternoon before traveling to Florida to face the Tampa Bay Rays.
On Wednesday, it will be Randy Vasquez (9-6, 4.19 ERA) taking the mound for San Diego against Bubba Chandler (6-8, 4.38 ERA).
