Pirates Bounce Back to Beat Padres, Even Series; Paul Skenes Flirts With No-Hitter
PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and the offense bounced back for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 7-1 win over the San Diego Padres at PNC Park on Tuesday night.
Scoring Plays
Bottom 5th, 2-0 PIT: Oneil Cruz broke the scoreless tie with a double down the third base line against Nick Pivetta (1-2). Spencer Horwitz and Konnor Griffin scored on the play.
Top 7th, 2-1 PIT: Xander Bogaerts connected on a solo home run to left field with one out off Paul Skenes, knocking the Pirates’ starter out of the game.
Bottom 8th, 7-1 PIT: With the bases loaded, Nick Gonzales doubled home two runs off Adrián Morejón and Jake Mangum followed with a pinch-hit RBI single. Konnor Griffin plated two more after ripping a single to left-center.
Key Moments
Konnor Griffin’s hustle infield single left the door open for the Pirates (7-4) to take the lead in the fifth. The ball was hit 93.1 mph at third baseman Manny Machado but Griffin just beat the throw thanks to a spring speed of 30.2 ft/sec.
Shortly after the Pirates took the lead, Fernando Tatis Jr. broke up Paul Skenes’ no-hit bid with a one-out single in the top of the sixth to give the Padres (5-6) two on with one out. Skenes got Jackson Merrill to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
Player of the Game
Paul Skenes (2-1) tossed a season-high 6.1 innings and allowed one run on two hits with two walks and six strikeouts. After he was charged with five runs in his Opening Day start, Skenes has only allowed two runs in 11.1 innings over his last two outings.
Stat to Know
The Pirates had lost 12 of their last 13 games against the Padres and had dropped seven in a row against San Diego at PNC Park. Their last home win against the Padres in Pittsburgh was on June 29, 2023.
Notable Performances
- Paul Skenes: 6.1 innings, two hits, one run, two walks, six strikeouts, 87 pitches/53 strikes
- Konnor Griffin: 2 for 4, two RBI, one run
- Ryan O’Hearn: 2 for 3, one walk, one run
- Henry Davis: 2 for 4, one double
- Oneil Cruz: 1 for 5, one double, two RBI
- Nick Gonzales: 1 for 4, two RBI
Noteworthy
- Xander Bogaerts’ home run off Paul Skenes was the first allowed by a Pirates starting pitcher this season. The 10-game streak was tied for the fifth-longest to begin a season since 1950.
- Ryan O’Hearn extended his on-base streak to 19 games dating back to last year. The trails only the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (42 games) for the second-longest streak in MLB. O’Hearn has reached base safely multiple times in nine of his first 10 games with Pittsburgh.
- Oneil Cruz’s RBI double in the fifth inning extended his hitting streak to seven games.
- Konnor Griffin snapped an 0-for-13 slump with an infield single in the bottom of the fifth. It was the first hit for Griffin since his RBI double against the Baltimore Orioles in his first-career at-bat on Friday.
- The Pirates had 10 opposite-field hits in the game. They out-hit the Padres 12-3.
Up Next
The Pirates will go for their third-straight series win behind RHP Mitch Keller (1-0, 1.50 ERA) on Wednesday afternoon. RHP Michael King (0-1, 3.38 ERA) will be on the mound for the Padres. First pitch: 12:35 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/100.1 FM & AM 1020.
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Bucco fans, let us not underestimate how many quality starts that Keller had before the all-star break, he excelled and even though his arm wears down in the 2nd half of the season, he, after Skenes, is the best in baseball during the first half.