07/26/23 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_Ethan on Twitter
The Pittsburgh Pirates entered Tuesday night at Petco Park undefeated against the San Diego Padres in 2023, but yet another strong start from Padres starter Blake Snell helped San Diego pick up their first victory against the Pirates this season in a 5-1 victory.
Pittsburgh kicked off the scoring after the offense had a strong Monday showing, with Henry Davis doubling to left-center field and scoring Carlos Santana from first base to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead, but that would be their only runs of the evening.
Manny Machado immediately followed the Pirates run with a solo shot in the bottom of the second inning that would tie the game while Gary Sanchez singled to score Xander Bogaerts to give the Padres a 2-1 advantage.
The scoring would quiet down until the seventh inning, but the big moment in the game came in the fifth inning as the Pirates loaded the bases following an Austin Hedges infield hit. Connor Joe and Bryan Reynolds would bat back-to-back and both saw the same result as Snell struck out both and left the inning without giving up a run despite a bases loaded, one out jam.
Juan Soto would homer in the seventh off Angel Perdomo, which was followed by Perdomo plunking Machado with a 98 mph fastball, something the Padres nor Machado were happy about. Machado was walked down the line by the home plate umpire with clear frustration and Perdomo along with manager Derek Shelton were ejected following the at-bat.
Dauri Moreta would surrender two more runs in the eighth on a Sanchez two-run homer and that would all she wrote on the Pirates 5-1 loss.
The big story here? The Pirates were 1-for-9 with RISP on the evening and were unable to capitalize in some of the biggest moments of the game, something we’ve become accustomed to over the past few months.
Pittsburgh will look to win the series Wednesday with Johan Oviedo(4.77 ERA) facing Seth Lugo(3.72 ERA).
News & Notes
- Pirates drop to 44-57 and 11.5 GB of NL Central leading Brewers
- Alika Williams walks in his first MLB plate appearance in impressive 11-pitch at-bat
- Chance to go 5-1 on the season v. San Diego Wednesday
Steel City Pirates 