The Pirates had plenty of chances, but they couldn't capitalize on any of them and were defeated 3-0 by the Padres on Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park.
Bottom 2nd, 1-0 SD: Jackson Merrill doubled to right and scored on Luis Rengifo 's single to right off Bubba Chandler (6-9) to give the Padres (72-62) the lead.
Bottom 4th, 2-0 SD: Manny Machado reached when third baseman Nick Gonzales airmailed a throw to first base after fielding a grounder. He scored on Merrill's triple into the right field corner.
Bottom 8th, 3-0 SD: Jake Cronenworth doubled home a run off Kirby Yates to extend San Diego 's lead.
The Pirates (65-70) had runners on second and third with no outs and the bases loaded with two outs against Randy Vásquez (10-6) in the fourth but couldn't score. Bryan Reynolds popped out, Esmerlyn Valdez struck out, and after an Oneil Cruz walk, Nick Gonzales struck out looking.
Brandon Lowe drew an 11-pitch walk against Kyle Hart in the sixth to give the Pirates two on with no outs. Reynolds was robbed of a hit on a Jake Cronenworth diving catch at second base, Valdez bounced into a fielder's choice and Cruz flew out to center.
A Jared Triolo infield single off Yuki Matsui loaded the bases with one out, but Lowe and Spencer Horwitz each struck out swinging.
The Pirates again had two on with no out against Bradgley Rodriguez in the eighth, but Cruz and Gonzales each went down on strikes and Jake Mangum grounded into a fielder's choice.
Padres starter Randy Vásquez held the Pirates to just one hit across five-scoreless innings. He walked two and struck out two.
The Pirates had two runners on with nobody out in four separate innings and didn't score in any of them. According to the SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast, no team has done that since the Rangers in 1980.
Bubba Chandler: 5.2 innings, four hits, two runs (one earned), two walks, three strikeouts, 83 pitches/54 strikes
Spencer Horwitz: 2 for 5
The Pirates went 2 for 30 with runners in scoring position in the series, including 1 for 13 in this one.
Bubba Chandler took his first loss since June 30 against the Phillies . He had gone 3-0 in eight starts since.
CF Oneil Cruz recorded an outfield assist with a perfect throw home to prevent Jake Cronenworth from scoring in the eighth. Cruz's fifth outfield assist is one shy of last year's total.
C Endy Rodríguez underwent surgery on the labrum in his left hip on Wednesday. He's expected to resume baseball activities in 7-9 months.
The Pirates are off on Thursday before starting a weekend series at Busch Stadium on Friday night. RHP Jared Jones (2-5, 4.76 ERA) will take the mound for Pittsburgh. The Cardinals have yet to announce a starter. First pitch: 8:15 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.
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