Pivetta plays stopper, bats awaken as Padres stop skid to beat Giants
Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Petco Park- San Diego, CA
The Padres desperately wanted to end their four-game losing streak. After being swept by the Dodgers in L.A. over the weekend, they dropped the series opener to the Giants in gut-wrenching fashion. They lost 4-3 after a would-be home run by Xander Bogaerts was called back due to fan interference. That ended up being the difference.
Nick Pivetta looked to play the role of stopper once more. The Padres had not won since the last time he pitched, in the 11-1 win over the Giants last week. Time and time again, Pivetta has taken the mound to snatch momentum back from the opponent.
He did just that on Tuesday night against the Giants.
San Francisco didn’t go quietly, though. In fact, the game started inauspiciously, with Jung Ho Lee homering on the second pitch of the game. For the second time in as many days, the Padres went to bat in the bottom of the first already trailing.
They didn’t trail for long, this time. Fernando Tatis Jr. reached on an error, and Luis Arraez doubled to get him to third. Manny Machado grounded out to score the tying run. However, the Padres could not mount anything more than that in the first.
San Diego took advantage of Giants starter Kai-Wei Teng losing his pitch control in the fourth. Ryan O’Hearn singled to lead it off, then Xander Bogaerts was hit by a pitch. With runners on first and third and one out, Gavin Sheets was also hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jose Iglesias made the Giants pay with an RBI single. Tatis worked a walk with the bases loaded, pushing San Diego’s lead to 3-1.
Pivetta ended up going six runs and allowing just that leadoff homer to start the game. He allowed just three hits and struck out 10, marking the third time this season he reached double-digit strikeouts.
O'Hearn drives in Manny! pic.twitter.com/zm6oAr2wM1
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 20, 2025
He turned it over to the loaded Padres bullpen.
Meanwhile, the Padres scratched across two more runs against the Giants’ bullpen. Machado led off the bottom of the fifth with a double in the left-center gap. O’Hearn collected his second hit of the evening, driving in Machado to push the lead to three. In the sixth, Elias Diaz worked a walk ahead of a Tatis single. Arraez put a ball in play with Diaz at third base, scoring the fifth run of the night for San Diego.
Hardly any of the Padres’ runs were hard hits, and they hit zero home runs.
After Pivetta, Shildt turned to Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam, and Robert Suarez to close the 5-1 win. The Padres ended their painful losing streak and will seek to at least clinch a series split in the four-game set Wednesday evening.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.