VICTORY SHOWER
Charting a new course at home, Pirates rally to sweep Padres, win 4th in a row
Pirates players mob Kevin Newman after his bases-loaded walk capped a four-run, 11th-inning rally Sunday in an 11-10 victory against the San Diego Padres at PNC Park. The Pirates swept the three-game weekend series and have won four in a row. More coverage in
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred could use the Pirates’ 11-10 extrainnings win against the San Diego Padres Sunday as an example of why the sport’s efforts to speed up the game should continue. It took a whole 298 minutes but the result was worth the nearly five-hour wait for the Pirates.
Kevin Newman drew a walk with the bases loaded to cap a four-run comeback in the 11th inning, helping the Pirates finish their series sweep.
The Pirates have won four in a row and six of their past eight games.
Newman took the fourth ball with a 3-2 count after going down, 0-2, to reliever Matt Wisler.
“I went down 0-2 quicker than I would’ve liked. But once I did, it was getting in the box and battle and see where it takes us,” Newman said. “Once I get two strikes, I try to shorten up a little bit and really fight and try not to do too much.”
The Pirates had 17 hits but won the game on a walk and survived a lot of ups and downs. With the bases loaded, Jacob Stallings drove in
Melky Cabrera and Josh Bell to tie the score with a double off Wisler.
“I knew [Wisler] liked to use his slider and I was looking for a pitch I could hit,” Stallings said. “It was a long day, but it was worth it.
Cabrera doubled in Bryan Reynolds with one out for the first of four runs in the 11th. Manager Clint Hurdle typically would use a pinchrunner for Cabrera after the double, but the bench was empty.
Cabrera, 34, isn’t the fastest but compensates with guile and smarts. Cabrera hustled to score the tying run and slid into home.
“It felt like swimming in the ocean,” Cabrera said through an interpreter. “Once I saw that the umpire called me safe I wanted to soak in the moment.”
Cabrera hit the double off Phil Maton and Wisler gave up the remaining runs.
It seemed like a three-run 11th for the Padres was the nail in the coffin. Manuel Margot caught the Pirates in a shift with a bunt, allowing Eric Hosmer to score. Austin Hedges then drove in the other two with a single.
Earlier, the Padres took a three-run lead into the ninth with closer Kirby Yates on the mound. Yates had converted all his previous 26 save opportunities this season without giving up a run, the longest such streak in team history. Yates led MLB with a 33-game streak dating to Aug. 28, 2018.
And yet Eliaz Diaz reached base on a Manny Machado error and Adam Frazier doubled with two outs. Newman brought in Frazier with a base hit, and Reynolds drove in the second run with a line drive to center. Cabrera hit a groundout that Newman scored on to tie the score.
To start the scoring, Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. scored on a rare play. He drew a walk from starter Steven Brault and moved to third on a double by Machado. Hunter Renfroe popped out to Newman at second base and Newman caught the ball just beyond the infield grass.
The ball was barely out of infield fly-rule territory. Most runners wouldn’t consider going. In his rookie season, Tatis is proving that he isn’t most players.
Newman hesitated and Tatis dashed home. Umpire Mike Winters called Tatis out at home but Padres manager Andy Green successfully challenged the play. The umpires took another review of about two minutes to decide base position, seeing if Machado could move to third. The second review sent him back to second.
“Newman got his pocket picked on that one,” Hurdle said. “That’s a play that one extra tap of the glove or whatever the ball has to be in there.”
Tatis made an exciting play and the reviews got it right, but it took a while.
“He made an aggressive play and caught me on my heels,” Newman said. “I take it as a learning moment and never let it happen again.”
Brault walked Franmil Reyes and Machado stole third before Ian Kinsler struck out to end the inning.
Jose Osuna doubled to start the third and Brault drove him in with a one-out single to tie the score at 1-1. Newman pushed his careerhigh hit streak to 14 games with a single to move Brault to third. Brault then scored on Reynolds’ sacrifice fly to center fielder Manuel Margot. The Pirates then led, 2-1.
The Padres scored two runs in the fourth inning to take a 3-2 lead. Brault gave up a single to Kinsler. Margot hit into a fielder’s choice, which got Kinsler at second for the first out. Brault threw a wild pitch in the at-bat against Austin Hedges. Margot scored on Hedges’ double a few pitches later.
Josh Bell hit his 28th double of the year in the bottom of the fourth. Before the game, Bell said he would participate in the home run derby at the All-Star Game if he is invited. Osuna, who started at third base, got an RBI single to bring Bell home and tie the score, 3-3.
Brault’s day ended when Jason Martin pinch-hit in the fifth. Brault went six innings in his past two starts.
Martin singled and later scored on Marte’s sacrifice fly. Martin showed his baserunning skills, making second on Newman’s groundout and third on a wild pitch by Joey Lucchesi.
But the bullpen couldn’t keep the game close.
Clay Holmes gave up a sixth-inning RBI single to Tatis, who had two RBIs and scored three runs. Richard Rodriguez gave up his first run in nine outings on a Hosmer single that drove in Tatis with two outs.
Geoff Hartlieb allowed two runs in the eighth. Machado hit a two-out double with the bases loaded to plate Tatis and Greg Garcia. The inning could’ve been worse if Hosmer didn’t get caught trying to steal home.
Chris Stratton kept the Padres off the board in the ninth. Felipe Vazquez then pitched a scoreless 10th. The Pirates and Padres combined to use 13 pitchers in the nearly five-hour game.
After a seven-game skid, the Pirates (36-40) have won six of eight and four in a row with this sweep. They were 4-1 in this homestand.
“This was one of the best wins we’ve had in my nine years here,” Hurdle said.