Padres close out successful road trip with an 8-2 victory in Pittsburgh
Credit: CBS Sports
The San Diego Padres take advantage of a lackluster Pirates defense to win their second straight series.
Michael King took the bump on Wednesday to face off against Pittsburgh Pirates’ veteran Mitch Keller.
The newest wrinkle in the ever-changing Padres’ lineup was a rare off day for Manny Machado. Miguel Andujar took over third base duties and batted sixth, while Gavin Sheets moved up to the cleanup spot and remained at first base.
A pitcher’s duel through six
The starting pitching on both sides was masterful on Wednesday. King struggled with his command at times, but was able to limit the Pirates to just two hits through six innings, despite allowing three walks. Keller did much of the same, allowing just three hits and a walk through six innings. There were eight total strikeouts between the two starters, but both prevented any hard contact.
Bats break it open
The game took a sharp turn in the 7th inning. Even though Mitch Keller had thrown just 75 pitches through six innings, the Pirates turned to the bullpen and Justin Lawrence to start the next inning. Lawrence induced a groundball from Xander Bogaerts to lead off the inning, but a throwing error by shortstop Nick Gonzalez allowed Bogaerts to reach anyway. Andujar followed the error with a double, bringing up Nick Castellanos.
In typical Castellanos fashion, he laced a double down the line on the first pitch to score the first two runs of the game. After fouling off multiple bunt attempts, Luis Campusano grounded out to shortstop and brought Jake Cronenworth to the plate with one out and a runner still on second. Croneneworth pounced on a low fastball from Lawrenece and sent it over the centerfield wall for his first home run of the year. The bottom of the order delivered again for the Padres, to give them a sudden 4-0 lead.
There is a Crone Zone in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/adEzqSlZw3
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 8, 2026
Pirates stay in it
After a clean 1-2-3 6th inning, Stammen decided to send King back out at 92 pitches. King gave up a quick single, followed by a double from pitches he left in the heart of the zone. Kyle Hart came in to try to salvage a tough situation with runners on second and third and no one out. Rookie sensation Konnor Griffin came into the game as a pinch hitter and was able to hit a deep enough fly ball to earn the sacrifice fly and plate the first Pirates run. Ramon Laureano made a great play to snag the out.
Catcher Joey Bart then took a splitter the other way for an RBI single, bringing the tying run to the plate with just one out in the 7th.
After walking Jake Mangum, Hart was able to stick with it and muster a groundball and a flyball to end the inning without any more damage. Both runs were charged to Michael King as the Pirates cut the Padres’ lead down to 4-2.
Padres take advantage of a messy 9th inning
Jeremiah Estrada pitched a mostly clean 8th, needing just 12 pitches to get through four batters. Another fantastic diving catch by Ramon Laureano certainly helped as well.
Ramon Laureano is putting on a defensive clinic in LF for the Padres pic.twitter.com/5W32XZgJ3b
— Carlos (@LFGPads19) April 8, 2026
Pirates skipper Don Kelly decided to leave Jose Urquidy out for the 9th inning after getting through the heart of the Padres order the inning prior. The Pirates again started this inning with an error on a Castellanos groundball, allowing him to reach. Bryce Johnson pinch-ran for the slower veteran and immediately stole second base, setting up an RBI double in the gap by Campusano.
The top of the order was finally able to make some noise in this game, as Laureano and Fernando Tatis Jr. hit back-to-back singles through the infield, which scored Campusano. Merrill hit a groundball to first baseman Nick Yorke, but Yorke misfired on a throw trying to get Laureano out at home. That led to another run scored and there was still just one out. In what was already a defensive disaster for Pittsburgh, Merrill took off for second, leading to a throw there that allowed Tatis to use his speed and score from third.
The Padres took advantage of the Pirates’ defensive blunders to take a commanding 8-2 lead despite not scoring for the first six innings. Despite the safe lead, Mason Miller still came out in the 9th inning to pitch in his hometown of Pittsburgh. In natural Miller fashion, he struck out the first two batters en route to a 1-2-3 inning and a Padres victory.
Coming back home
The Padres finish with a record of 4-2 on their cold East Coast road trip to bring them back to .500 after a rough start.
The Rockies and Mariners are on the docket for the homestand that begins on Thursday at 6:40 PM. Randy Vasquez will look to continue his hot start against a Rockies team that just took a road series against a quality Houston team.
Jacob grew up with Padres season tickets and walls plastered with Khalil Greene memorabilia. He has dedicated all of his young professional career towards becoming baseball’s next AJ Preller, having already worked with minor league and college teams in different roles. He is always scouring the Baseball Savant page to find the next little nugget that might help his hometown Padres (or his fantasy baseball team).