Pittsburg, PA
Pirates Bullpen Squanders Lead in Loss to Padres
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ (22-38) blew an early lead as their bullpen faltered in a 6-4 loss against the San Diego Padres (33-24) on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park.
The rubber match handed the Pirates a series loss against San Diego. Pittsburgh went 3-3 during this week’s West Coast road trip.
Going into the bottom of the seventh inning, it looked like the Pirates were going to finish out their West Coast travels with another series win. But the Pirates bullpen squandered a 4-1 lead, and the Buccos’ bats were quiet after the fourth inning. It was another close loss, but one that the Pirates would have liked to hold on to for a second consecutive series win.
Oneil Cruz got things going for Pittsburgh in the first inning with a leadoff walk. He then stole second base for his National League-leading 19th stolen base of the season. Bryan Reynolds, scorching hot coming into today’s game, then came to the plate with a runner in scoring position and only one out.
Reynolds would walk as well. Spencer Horwitz then flew out to left, while Ke’Bryan Hayes grounded out to third base to end the Pirates early threat.
The Padres did not take long to open up the scoring. With two outs, Manny Machado blasted a no-doubt shot to left field off a hanging curveball from Pirates starting pitcher Andrew Heaney to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. It was Machado’s third home run off Heaney in 23 career at-bats against the lefty.
Jackson Merrill followed the home run with a double in the left-center gap. In the next at-bat, Gavin Sheets hit a ball to almost the exact same spot. But it had a little more loft than Merrill’s line-drive, and Cruz was able to soar over to the ball for the third out.
In the third inning, Cruz walked again. He also stole second again. It was his 20th stolen base of the season.
Cruz did not need to use his legs to score a run. Instead, Andrew McCutchen hammered a home run to left field, giving the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
The home run was McCutchen’s 240th as a Pittsburgh Pirate, tying him with legend Roberto Clemente for the third most in franchise history.
McCutchen’s moment came only two days after he moved into ninth place all-time on the Pirates’ leaderboard for hits.
Pittsburgh’s offense did not stop there. Spencer Horwitz hit a ground-rule double to left-center field. Then, Hayes drove him in with a soft single to center field. Hayes would ultimately be caught in a pickle, but the Pirates still left the top half of the third inning with a 3-1 lead.
Adam Frazier kept the offensive momentum going with a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning. It was Frazier’s third home run of the season, and the first opposite field home run of his ten-year career. After singles from Tommy Pham and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Vasquez’s evening was over.
The right-hander pitched 3.1 innings, allowing six hits, four earned runs, while walking four and striking out three. It was Vasquez’s shortest start of the season.
Reliever Wandy Peralta came on and limited the damage. The Pirates now carried a 4-1 lead.
Heaney dominated the middle innings for the Pirates. He retired 13 Padres hitters in a row from the second to the sixth inning. Luis Arraez broke up the streak in the sixth with a one-out double down the left field line.
After giving up the Machado home run, Heaney was able to keep his breaking balls down and away from San Diego bats. His on-the-go adjustments made all the difference in another solid start for a Pirates starting pitcher.
The Padres scored their second run when Merrill notched his second double of the day, this one down the right-field line. The score now 4-2, Heaney was replaced by reliever Chase Shugart. He did not allow Merrill to score, his 12th stranded runner of the season. That’s the most of any reliever in MLB without allowing a stranded runner to score.
Heaney’s line for the day was 5.2 innings pitched, five hits allowed, two earned runs, with no walks and three strikeouts. It was a nice rebound from Heaney’s previous start against Arizona, his worst outing of the season.
San Diego took advantage of Heaney’s removal. In the seventh inning, Pirates reliever Tanner Rainey walked two batters before an Elias Diaz single put the Padres within one run. Then, Rainey walked Fernando Tatis Jr. to load the bases with only one out. Rainey’s short, unsuccessful outing was done after this. He walked three and allowed one hit.
Left-hander Caleb Ferguson came on to replace Rainey in the tough spot. Arraez proceeded to loop a RBI single past Kiner-Falefa to tie the game at 4-4, with the bases still loaded.
Machado then drove a ball into the left-center field gap that looked like might go over the wall for a grand slam. But it died at the warning track, and Cruz was able to snag the ball for the second out. Still, a Padres runner came around to score on the sacrifice fly, giving the Padres a 5-4 lead.
Tyler Wade provided the Padres a 6-4 lead when he hit a comebacker ground ball that bounced off Ferguson’s glove and died behind the mound. Ferguson struck out Xander Bogaerts to stop the bleeding.
All four runs that were allowed in the inning were credited to Rainey. His ERA rose to 10.57 after today’s appearance. He also took the loss today.
The Pirates’ bats went down in order during the eighth inning. Closer Robert Suarez came on to pitch the ninth for San Diego. He had no issues retiring the Pirates in order again, notching his 19th save of the season. He lowered his ERA on the season to 2.13.
The Pirates will return home for a three-game series against the Houston Astros that starts on Tuesday. They are off for a travel day on Monday. Paul Skenes (4-5, 2.15 ERA, 77 K) will take the mound for the Pirates on Tuesday night, while Lance McCullers Jr. (0-1, 5.89 ERA, 26 K) gets the starting nod for Houston. First pitch is expected at 6:40 PM ET.
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are producing at the plate and its something they’ve done throughout this season.
The Pirates continued that in their most recent series vs. the Houston Astros at Daikin Park, scoring 24 total runs and winning two of three games in their first series of the month.
Pittsburgh won 10-6 in the series opener on June 2, fell 11-9 on June 3 and then won 5-1 in the series finale on June 4.
The Pirates put up good enough performances to win all three games from the plate and it’s the main reason they’ve had so much success this season.
Pirates Offense Takes Liftoff in Houston
The Pirates swept the Minnesota Twins at PNC Park, May 29-31, prior to this series and scored 25 total runs, marking 49 over the past six games, good for more than eight runs per contest.
Pittsburgh has shown their power this season and they hit six home runs vs. the Astros to keep it going.
Catcher Endy Rodríguez hit a two-run home run to tie the game up 2-2 in the second inning of the series opener, center fielder Oneil Cruz hit a three-run home run to give the Pirates a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning and then second baseman Brandon Lowe sealed the win with a three-run home run in the eighth inning to make it 9-4.
Fellow catcher Henry Davis hit the first grand slam of his career in the second game of the series to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead int he fourth inning and second baseman Nick Gonzales hit a two-run home run, his second of the season, extending the Pirates’ lead to 7-3 in the seventh inning.
Right fielder Ryan O’Hearn hit the sole home run in the series finale, a two-run home run to make it 4-0 in the sixth inning, and finished with three RBI in the victory.
Cruz had a great series in Houston, with six hits and four walks, while Gonzales also tied him with six hits and three RBI.
Outfielder Jake Mangum had four hits and two stolen bases in the series opener and played some solid defense in the series finale too.
Pirates Hitters vs. Astros
|
Player |
Hits/At-Bats |
Walks |
RBI |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Oneil Cruz |
6-for-14 |
4 |
3 |
|
Nick Gonzales |
6-for-13 |
1 |
3 |
|
Jake Mangum |
5-for-9 |
0 |
0 |
|
Ryan O’Hearn |
3-for-10 |
1 |
3 |
|
Brandon Lowe |
3-for-14 |
1 |
3 |
|
Bryan Reynolds |
2-for-12 |
2 |
1 |
|
Endy Rodríguez |
2-for-9 |
1 |
3 |
|
Jared Triolo |
1-for-9 |
4 |
1 |
The Pirates haven’t had to rely on just one person this season, as they’ve gotten contributions from almost everyone in the lineup on a consistent basis.
Pittsburgh saw that happen against Houston, with different players stepping up in different games to come through and provide runs and hits.
How Pirates Offense Stacks Up to Rest of MLB
The Pirates rank statistially amongst the best teams in baseball and are in the top five/top 10 teams in most categories.
Pirates 2026 Stats and NL/MLB ranking
|
Stat (Total) |
NL/MLB Ranking |
|---|---|
|
Hits (560) |
1st/1st |
|
OBP (.339) |
2nd/2nd |
|
Stolen Bases (62)/Batting Average (.256) |
3rd/3rd |
|
OPS (.744) |
3rd/4th) |
|
Walks (251)/Slugging % (.405) |
(3rd/5th) |
|
RBI (310)/Runs (325) |
4th/4th |
|
Home Runs (74) |
6th/10th |
It’s a dramatic change from last season, where they were arguably the worst hitting team in baseball, ranking dead-last or close to the bottom of most of these same statistical categories.
The offseason additions of O’Hearn and Lowe have been massive for the Pirates, both of whom have brought veteran leadership, but also great production at the plate.
O’Hearn has slashed .295/.371/.486 for an OPS of .857 in 48 games, with 51 hits, six doubles, nine home runs, 33 RBI and 20 walks to 39 strikeouts.
Lowe leads the Pirates and ranks 4th in the National League/11th in baseball with 15 home runs, eighth in the NL/16th in MLB with 40 RBI, seventh in NL/13th in MLB with a .532 slugging percentage and 10th in NL/20th in MLB with a .873 OPS.
Cruz is having a big rebound season and is slashing .269/.349/.482 for an OPS of .831 in 61 games, with 45 runs scored, 66 hits, 10 doubles, 14 home runs, 44 RBI and 20 stolen bases.
He is second in baseball with stolen bases, ranks tied for third in NL/tied for sixth in MLB in runs scored, tied for fifth in NL/tied for sixth in MLB in RBI, tied for 8th in NL/tied for 14th in MLB in hits, tied for seventh in NL/tied for 16th in MLB in home runs, while ranking 21st in baseball in slugging percentage and 25th in OPS.
Bryan Reynolds has also been excellent with his plate discipline, tied for the sixth-most walks in baseball (44) and has the ninth-best on-base percentage (.397), while Spencer Horwitz isn’t too far behind with the a .386 on-base percentage, 17th-best in baseball.
Gonzales has been one of the best hitters in baseball, with his .313 batting average eighth-best in MLB.
Rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin had a solid May and if the likes of Mangum, Rodríguez, Davis, fellow rookie Jhostynxon Garcia can join in more consistently, this Pirates lineup will continue playing a big role in a lot of wins the rest of the season.
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have looked for reliable bullpen arms and right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski displayed exactly what they need this season.
Mlodzinski earned a four-inning save for the Pirates in the 5-1 win over the Houston Astros in the series finale at Daikin Park on June 5, playing a big role in a massive road series win.
He allowed just one run and four hits, while posting three strikeouts, shutting down a strong Astros offense for an important win.
Mlodzinski has a new role with the Pirates, but it’s one they need more performances like this one to help out an area of weakness on their pitching staff.
How Mlodzinski Shut Down the Astros
It wasn’t a great start for Mlodzinski, who gave up a solo home run to Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning.
Mlodzinski threw just his second pitch, a 94.6 mph four-seam fastball that was in the top part of the strike zone, which Paredes sent 101.3 mph off the bat and 356 feet into the left field seats.
The Pirates pitcher then got out of the inning quickly, with two ground outs and a fly out to end it.
Mlodzinski faced some adversity in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving up back-to-back singles with one out and faced Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, who was 7-for-11 and drove in five RBI prior to this at-bat.
He managed to get Alvarez out on a sinker at the top of the zone, that Mlodzinski noted postgame as, “unintentional”, and then got a ground out to strand both runners.
Mlodzinski got a 1-2-3 eighth inning and then after giving up a single in the ninth inning, he got a double play to end the game on a backdoor slider.
it was an outing that Mlodzinski relied less on striking batters out and more on inducing weak contact and relying on his defense to get the job done.
He allowed just five hard hits on 12 batted ball events and saw some nice defensive plays made, including a diving catch from left fielder Jake Mangum and a good stop from third baseman Nick Gonzales and then the pick from first baseman Spencer Horwitz for a big out.
“Yeah it was fun,” Mlodzinski said postgame to DK Pittsburgh Sports. “Not ideal second pitch in. I just felt like trusting my stuff to go right after guys. We had a five-run lead, so the thought was, ‘Let’s be efficient.’ Kind of had an idea going in that I might be able to finish this one, so efficiency was definitely in the back of my head and no walks and the defense made some plays behind me. Just pitching to the game, in a sense.”
Mlodzinski Filling New Role Admirably for Pirates
It wasn’t an easy week prior to this game for Mlodzinski, who lost his spot in the starting rotation after two months, following the return of Jared Jones from inury.
Jones took Mlodzinski’s role and the Pirates placed Mlodzinski on the restricted list for the 9-3 win over the Minnesota Twins in the series finale at PNC Park on May 31.
Mlodzinski came back off the restricted list the following day and eventually resumed his role in the bullpen, where he followed Jones in this game.
Jones had thrown five scoreless innings in his second start back and Mlodzinski came through with a solid outing for himself.
This is a big moment for the Pirates, who now have Jones improving and able to take on a bigger workload each time he comes out, while Mlodzinski is an effective reliever that can fill that bulk role after Jones.
Pittsburgh managed to give the seven other bullpen arms a rest, crucially important as they take on the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park, a weekend road series against the team with the best record in baseball at 42-21.
The Pirates bullpen had just blown a 9-5 lead in the eighth inning the game prior, in a 11-9 loss to the Astros on June 3, which marked their 13th blown save of the season.
Pirates manager Don Kelly now has one of his best arms back in his bullpen and will want to see more outings like this one from Mlodzinski as the season continues, who will help the Pirates maintain leads and give them a chance to make comebacks as well.
“We’re gonna be smart with it,” Kelly said postgame to SportsNet Pittsburgh. “He’s extremely important to us, with the starts he’s made, coming out of the ‘pen, filling four.
“We’re going to smart about the usage with him and it keeps him stretched out. It’s not to say we might not see some shorter, but the ideal length is probably for him to get up there in pitches and to do exactly what he did tonight.”
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