Pirates Blank Padres as Falter Twirls Gem; Reynolds, McCutchen Continue to Heat Up

The Pittsburgh Pirates blanked the San Diego Padres 5-0 on Saturday, May 31, tying their weekend series and avenging a controversial loss the previous night.

Pirates (22-37) starting pitcher Bailey Falter mowed through 6.1 innings on just 79 pitches, and the bullpen had his back to close the Friars out.

Oneil Cruz began the game with a double, coming around to score on a single from Bryan Reynolds; Falter, in turn, allowed an infield single to the first batter he faced, Fernando Tatìs Jr., but the Padres managed just one hit the rest of the way.

Adam Frazier doubled with two outs in the fourth, then Ke’Bryan Hayes doubled the Pirates’ lead with an RBI single. Andrew McCutchen led off the fifth with a first-pitch homer, helping to chase Padres’ starter Dylan Cease from the game.

Pittsburgh tacked on four consecutive hits in the seventh on the way to two more runs, including an RBI double from Reynolds and a single from Spencer Horwitz. Despite Falter’s efficient outing, manager Don Kelly gave him the hook with one out in the seventh after a fly ball from Luis Arraez… and with right-handed batter Manny Machado lurking.

San Diego’s bats found their most success in the eighth inning facing Dennis Santana, advancing a runner to second base. Although he struggled with command, throwing as many balls as strikes through his first 14 pitches, David Bednar managed  to finish the game with a clean inning.