Make it Eight: Pirates Losing Streak Continues Despite Woodford’s Gem

Jake Woodford worked into the seventh inning for the first time in his career but the Pittsburgh Pirates fell 2-1 to the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on Monday night for their eighth-straight loss. 

Recap

In his second start with the Pirates (56-62), Woodford (0-4) scattered two hits across the first six innings of the game. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out a pair. Jurickson Profar led off the top of the seventh with a double to right field, which ended Woodford’s outing. 

In relief of Woodford, Kyle Nicolas struck out the first batter he faced but allowed Profar to advance to third on a wild pitch. With one out, Xander Bogaerts shot a single to right field to put the Padres (67-53) ahead 1-0. 

San Diego tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on a Kyle Higashioka sacrifice fly to deep left field. 

Andrew McCutchen brought the Pirates within a run in the ninth with a run-scoring single but Robert Suarez recorded the final out for his 26th save of the season.

Former Pirates pitcher Joe Musgrove returned from the injured list and threw 4.1-scoreless innings on two hits.

Key Moment

With the tying run on first base in the top of the ninth, Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill laid out for a game-ending diving catch. 

JACKSON MERRILL IS REALLY GOOD AT BASEBALL pic.twitter.com/QlZZUmaxRG

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 13, 2024

Star of the Game

Even though he took the loss, Woodford delivered arguably the best start of his career. His previous career-high in innings in a start came when he tossed 5.2 innings against the Cubs in 2021 while with the Cardinals.

Stat to Know

Andrew McCutchen’s RBI-single in the ninth extended his hitting streak to a season-high nine games. He reached base three times in the game with a walk and a hit by pitch in addition to his base hit.

Noteworthy

• Oneil Cruz and Bryan De La Cruz each had two-hit games.
• The Pirates placed LHP Marco Gonzales on the 60-day injured list with a left forearm strain and selected RHP Ryder Ryan from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Up Next

As the Pirates try and end their slide, Luis Ortiz (5-2, 3.40 ERA) will look to get back on track on Tuesday night. Michael King (9-6, 3.34 ERA) will start for San Diego. First pitch: 9:40 ET.