The San Diego Padres are starting to improve following a rough start to the season as they head to Pittsburgh to face the red-hot Pirates on Monday night in the opener of a three-game set.
The Padres won a series for the first time this season when they beat the Red Sox in Boston in back-to-back games, including 8-6 on Sunday.
San Diego’s anemic offense, which entered the day with a major-league-worst .190 batting average and .553 OPS, woke up thanks to Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill, who combined for eight of the Padres’ 12 hits in the Sunday victory.
The Padres will need the production to continue on Monday when they send German Marquez (0-1, 12.00 ERA) to the mound to oppose fellow right-hander Bubba Chandler (0-0, 0.00) as San Diego attempts to stop Pittsburgh’s five-game winning streak.
Machado hit his first home run of the season Sunday as the Padres scored the most runs they’ve had in a game this season. It was only the second time in nine games that San Diego scored more than three runs in a contest.
Both of those games have come during this stretch of three wins in four games.
“Just to see Jackson go 3-for-5, Manny go 2-for-4, and Bogaerts go 3-for-3, if we get those guys moving the baseball the way they did today, we’re going to win a lot of baseball games,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said on Sunday.
Marquez could use the offensive backup following a rough first start last Tuesday against San Francisco. He was pulled after three innings after allowing four runs on eight hits, including a pair of home runs, and one walk. He struck out one on 65 pitches in a 9-3 loss.
Marquez has had success in his career against the Pirates, however, going 6-1 with a 1.89 ERA in seven starts.
Chandler will make his sixth career start and first ever against San Diego.
His first start of the season had mostly positive results with one glaring issue — walks. Chandler tossed 4 1/3 hitless innings, allowed only one unearned run and struck out six in a no-decision in an 8-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday. But he walked six and threw 81 pitches.
Chandler touched 100 mph on his fastball but wasn’t happy with his command.
“I just wasn’t executing,” he said after the start. “The confidence was probably not where it needed to be. We had a great lead. My job is to go out there and three up, three down, quick innings, let our boys get back in and hit. I think as the game went on, it was more about trying to go do something, rather than just going out there and doing it.”
Thanks largely to offseason acquisitions Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn, and a strong offensive start by Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh has shown the power at the plate it lacked last season with 12 home runs in nine games.
The Pirates also are seeing offensive production from welcome sources such as Nick Yorke, who started at third base a day after infielder Jared Triolo was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee injury.
Yorke delivered the walk-off hit in Saturday’s victory over the Orioles, and had another hit on Sunday. As a corresponding move with Triolo’s IL placement, Pittsburgh recalled outfielder Billy Cook from Triple-A Indianapolis.
–Field Level Media
