Jackson Merrill knocked in two runs and Nick Pivetta fired six solid innings as the San Diego Padres edged the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 on Friday.
Pivetta (6-2) gave up six hits and two runs, walking none and striking out eight as he improved to 5-0 at home this year. Three San Diego relievers got the last nine outs, with Robert Suarez pitching the final 1 1/3 innings for his major-league-high 18th save.
Suarez entered with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the eighth. Henry Davis worked the count full but was called out by plate umpire Edwin Jimenez on a fastball. Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly was ejected between innings for arguing the pitch, which appeared to be low.
Pirates starter Mitch Keller (1-7) allowed only three hits in six innings, along with three runs. Keller walked two and whiffed one.
The Padres won for the fourth time in five games, while the Pirates had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Merrill initiated the scoring in the fourth inning with a two-out RBI single that caromed off the glove of shortstop Isaiah Kiner-Falefa and rolled into left-center. The hit scored Manny Machado, who had doubled to break up Keller’s string of retiring 11 straight hitters to open the game.
The Pirates took a short-lived 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth. Tommy Pham singled and moved to third on Kiner-Falefa’s base hit. After Pivetta induced a short flyout and a foulout, Bryan Reynolds and Spencer Horwitz delivered two-out run-scoring singles.
However, Keller couldn’t hold the lead in San Diego’s half of the sixth. Fernando Tatis Jr. drew a leadoff walk and scored from first on Luis Arraez’s double down the left field line. Machado’s flyout to right advanced Arraez to third.
With the infield in, Merrill hit a hard grounder to second baseman Adam Frazier. Arraez got a good break off third and scored when Frazier’s throw home was wide right, forcing Davis to scoop the short hop. By the time he tagged Arraez, it was too late.
Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen each had two hits for Pittsburgh, which outhit the Padres 7-3.
–Field Level Media
