Padres Series Recap: Padres Lose Two of Three from Pirates at PNC Park
The San Diego Padres have just lost two out of three games from the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was well-known going into this series that it would be a tough series for the team. Overall the Padres did not have the worst showing. They definitely had no embarrassing moments in this one.
In fact the Pirates were the one’s who would be on the losing end of quite a laughable game. This series showed us what the rest of this season might be like. We will surely see a lot more losses this season. But at the same time there are players who are making it interesting.
There are young players on this team who really are making it worth watching Padres games. Like Janowski, Dickerson, Schimpf, Myers and a few others. Even a guy like Jabari Blash adds an interesting element to this team. You can say whatever you want about this team but at the very least they are trying to make it fun.
We would see one of those 2016 Padres moments in the second game of the series. Those moments that leave you in awe and make you disbelief that you are watching a Padres game. This season certainly has been a rough one, there is no question about that. At the very least we as fans are getting some fond memories mixed in with the nightmares.
Game One: Perdomo
Game one of this series turned out to be a decent game. The reason being was because of some offensive performances. There were definitely plenty of positives in this loss. First we will look at the big negative which was the starting pitcher, Luis Perdomo. Perdomo was basically the reason why we lost the game. All other components were in check during this game. The bullpen did well with Clayton Richard and Leonel Campos throwing three scoreless innings. The offense also did their part by providing enough runs(4) to win a game. Perdomo did not pitch a good game this time around. He would go five innings and allow six runs to score in this 6-4 loss. The Pirates starter, Chad Kuhl would actually be really solid for the Bucs. He would go six innings and only allow two runs to score. In terms of offense both teams would have a solid day at the plate.
Alex Dickerson would start it off in the first inning of the game with an RBI double. Then the player of the game for the Padres, Jabari Blash would follow with an RBI single. The Padres would have a 2-0 lead after the first inning. That lead would really not last too long. Sean Rodriguez would provide an RBI in the second inning then again in the fourth to tie up the game. After that, the killer blow of the game would come in the fifth inning. Gregory Polanco would blast a three-run shot off Luis Perdomo to give the Pirates a commanding lead. The Buccos would not stop there however, as Francisco Cervelli would provide an RBI double. The Pirates would increase their lead to 6-2 after that fifth inning.
The Padres would provide a late resurgence in offense towards the end of the game. Wil Myers would blast his 22nd home run of the year in the eighth inning off Antonio Bastardo. That would make it a closer score of 6-3. The Padres offense would then look alive again in the ninth inning. Tony Watson would go into the game looking to close it out for the Padres. He would not have it easy as the Padres would give him a fight. In fact Jabari Blash would start it off nicely with a solo shot. That would make it a much more interesting score line of 6-4. With one out Alexei Ramirez would get hit by a pitch. Clearly something was up with Watson’s control. Well the Padres would not find a way to capitalize on that. Christian Bethancourt would ground out into a game ending double play. In perfect Friars fashion the Padres would lose the first game of this series. All in all this game wasn’t the best but there were some bright spots. We did witness a rare Wil Myers home run away from Petco Park. It’s always nice to see Wil Perform away from home. We would also see a great game from Jabari Blash. Blash would go 2-4 with that ninth inning home run and would provide two RBI on the day. Alex Dickerson would also have a nice game going 1-3 with a walk and an RBI double. Overall the offensive performance was definitely something positive to look at. Despite the poor pitching performance by Perdomo this was not a pessimistic game for the Padres.
Game Two: Freddy the Flash
Game two of this series would really be quite the interesting game. Both the pitching and offense would be on point for the Padres in this one as the Padres would pull off a 4-0 victory. This was the type of game that the Padres are usually on the receiving end of. So it was nice for the Padres to be the ones doing the damage in this one. To start it off Edwin Jackson would be phenomenal for the Padres. The veteran pitcher would throw seven scoreless innings in which he would only allow two hits. Jackson really seems to be comfortable pitching for the Padres.
The bullpen would also perform as Ryan Buchter and Brandon Maurer would not allow a hit in two innings of work. Ryan Vogelsong wouldn’t have a bad day himself but his defense is what would let him down. Vogelsong would pitch six innings and would allow two unearned runs. He would really look on point as he would only allow three hits and walk one batter. The defense would turn out to be the Pirates downfall in this game. A couple of errors by the Pirates in the second inning would prove costly. The Padres would get two runs on the board because of errors by Vogelsong and Jung Ho Kang. The Padres would not stop scoring runs there. Alexei Ramirez would get the only legitimate RBI of the game in the seventh inning. He would drive in Ryan Schimpf with a single and the Padres would lead 3-0 after seven. The final run of the game would come in the eighth inning. Travis Jankowski would double to start off the inning. After Wil Myers would ground out in the next at bat he would find his way to third. Freddy would pull off something that he had already done earlier in the season. “The Flash” Friar would steal home for the second time this season. Jankowski has really been a bright spot for the Friars as of late. He continued to show just how much value he brings to this team. This game would be a great performance by the Padres. The pitching would be nearly perfect in this game. Yes the Pads would get lucky with some errors. But they would also provided two legitimate runs which would have won them the game anyways. Overall this was a great and exciting 4-0 victory for the San Diego Padres.
Game Three: Taillon Freesed The Friars
The final game of this series would turn out to be the worst game of the series for the Friars. The scoreline would flip and the Padres would be the one’s losing 4-0. There really were close to no positives to look at in this game. The offense was pitiful as they managed to get just four hits on the day. The pitching also really wasn’t that great for the Padres. To be fair Christian Friedrich would have a decent day but nothing special. Friedrich would pitch six innings and allow four runs to score.
Someone who would have a special day on the mound would be Pirates pitcher, Jameson Taillon. The rookie would look amazing as he would pitch eight scoreless innings. To add to it he would only allow three hits on the day. The main offensive star of the day would be former Friar minor leaguer David Freese. He would have a nice day as he would go 2-4 with two RBI. The other run producers for the Buccos in this game would be Gregory Polanco and Josh Harrison. The Pirates would not need much fire power on the day as three of the four runs would come from singles. Overall this game would definitely be one to forget for the Friar Faithful. Luckily because of the early start time many of us would probably not even witness this game. Overall this series was just simply another one to check off. The Padres are really not doing much of anything anymore. But it’s nice to see the younger players on the roster doing work for the big league club. They are really what makes it worth still watching the Padres games. The Padres will now head off to take on the New York Mets. Until next time Friar Faithful. Go Padres!
Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.