It was not the end to the homestand the San Diego Padres were looking for, but they did salvage the final game of the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 3-0 win that allowed them to finish with a 4-2 record before heading out on the road to face the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cincinnati Reds.
Randy Vasquez delivered another strong outing for the Padres with five scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit over that time and did not allow a walk. Vasquez finished with two strikeouts. He was staked
to a one-run lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a double by Jackson Merrill followed by an RBI-single from Luis Rengifo. That was all Vasquez and the rest of the San Diego staff would need to ensure the win.
The Padres did add runs in the bottom of the fourth and the bottom of the eighth innings, but the quartet of Kyle Hart, Griffin Canning, Yuki Matsui and Bradgley Rodriguez were able to keep the Pirates off the board. Pittsburgh had its chances against more than one of those pitchers but never could break through. The Pirates finished 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the game while the Padres finished 3-for-5.
Merrill was the offensive leader for San Diego and turned in a 2-for-3 day with an RBI, a run scored and a walk. Rengifo and Jake Cronenworth had the two other RBIs for the Padres and six players recorded hits in the game.
San Diego has an off day today before opening a three-game set with Tampa Bay on Friday.
Padres News:
- It takes all 26 players on an MLB roster to have a successful season, but some performances are more surprising than others. Who do you think has been the most impressive this season?
- The regular season is winding down for the San Diego minor league clubs and Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball tells you what you need to know about each team.
- Jeremaih Estrada returned to the IL and David Morgan was called up to take his place on the roster.
- Yu Darvish has started throwing bullpens but there is still no timeline for his return.
- Joey and Jesse Buss have an ownership stake in San Diego.
Baseball News:
- Kyle Schwarber reaches 40 home runs and leads the Philadelphia Phillies to a win over the Seattle Mariners.
- The Arizona Diamondbacks blanked the Chicago Cubs and earned a 2-0 win.
- Freddy Peralta threw a two-hitter and leads the Tampa Bay Rays over the Detroit Tigers.
- Hector Rodriguez hit two home runs and led the Cincinnati Reds over the San Francisco Giants.
- The Cleveland Guardians extended their win streak to seven games with a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angles.
