The San Diego Padres took back-to-back road series with an 8-2 win over Pirates behind starter Michael King.
The San Diego Padres continued their mostly winning ways today as they posted a solid 8-2 win, riding a strong Michael King start and some timely hitting to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates and take their second road series of the young season.
This was another game that featured plenty of goose eggs, and it was scoreless through six innings. The Padres broke through first with a four-run rally in the seventh after Pirates starter Mitch Keller left the game, with the key hits being a double from Nick Castellanos that drove in two, then a home run from Jake Cronenworth to bring home Castellanos.
King faltered in the seventh, and the Pirates cut the Padres lead in half with a pair of runs. The key hit was a sac fly by newly-signed Konnor Griffin that brought home Nick Yorke after Yorke singled, and another single from Joey Bart drove in the second run. Reliever Kyle Hart struggled to stop the bleeding after King left, so King ended up being charged with both runs.
One of the keys to this game was the strong outfield defense that helped Padres pitchers keep the Pirates at bay. Left fielder Ramon Laureano made a pair of outstanding sliding catches, and Fernando Tatis Jr. contributed a great running catch in right that helped the Padres keep their lead.
Jeremiah Estrada added a scoreless inning in the eighth, and the Padres broke the game open in the ninth to lock this one down. The key hits were an RBI double by Luis Campusano to go with a single from Tatis that drove home another, and Tatis put the cherry on top by stealing home to add the final run.
San Diego’s scoring binge removed the possibility of a save, but the Padres brought in Mason Miller to keep him sharp, and Miller was also making a homecoming with plenty of friends and family in the stands. His focus wasn’t hurt by the lead, though, as he struck out the first two hitters he faced, then got a ground out from Jake Mangum to finish the win and keep his remarkable scoreless streak intact.
The Padres head home after another series win to play a four-gamer against the Colorado Rockies, with starter Randy Gonzalez looking to continue his strong start that includes a streak of a dozen scoreless innings. The suddenly-competitive Rockies are 5-6 pending the outcome of their game today against the Houston Astros, but they haven’t listed a starter for this one yet.