Pittsburgh Pirates fail to sweep San Diego Padres
Aug 16, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) and catcher Russell Martin (55) talk on the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning at PNC Park. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Pirates have had their struggles with the San Diego Padres in years past and this game would also be a loss.
The 2-1 defeat means that the Pirates will take two wins at Petco Park before continuing their road trip in San Francisco to face the Giants.
Felix Pie was called up to the Pirates as both Starling Marte and Jose Tabata are dealing with injuries. Andrew Lambo and Alex Presley were sent down to Triple-A Indianapolis less than 10 days ago making them ineligible. As a result Ryan Reid was sent down and Wandy Rodriguez was moved from the 15 day to the 60 day Disabled List so that Pie could join the 40-man roster.
Gerrit Cole got the start but had a problem with keeping the Padres off the bases as they registered 10 hits.
The Padres registered a run in the third inning when Yonder Alonso hit a sacrifice fly to score Will Venable and another in the fifth thanks to an RBI single from Alonso.
The Pirates big opportunity came in the first inning when they loaded the bases with two outs. They came up empty handed when Padres starter Ian Kennedy struck out Garrett Jones.
Kennedy was locked in after that and pitched seven scoreless innings.
The Pirates registered a run off Luke Gregerson when Andrew McCutchen’s sacrifice fly scored Pie. The Pirates could not complete the comeback though as closer Huston Street set the Pirates down in order.
The Pirates will try to get back in the win column tomorrow night against the Giants as Jeff Locke [9-4 2.90] will face Matt Cain [8-8 4.35].
Probable matchups:
Thursday– Jeff Locke [9-4 2.90] vs Matt Cain [8-8 4.35]
Friday– Charlie Morton [4-3 3.67] vs Madison Bumgarner [11-7 2.82]
Saturday– Francisco Liriano [14-5 2.53] vs Tim Lincecum [6-13 4.53]
Sunday– A.J. Burnett [6-8 3.09] vs Ryan Vogelsong [2-4 6.29]