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.

Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly has built a reputation for defending his players and did so again in their latest game vs. the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

The Pirates loaded the bases in the top of the eighth inning, with designated hitter Andrew McCutchen hitting a two-out double and then both right fielder Bryan Reynolds and Spencer Horwitz drawing walks.

Catcher Henry Davis came up to bat for the Pirates and with his team trailing 3-2, just needing to get on base any way he could to tie it up or give them the lead.

Davis worked a full count, and the seventh pitch of the at-bat from Padres right-handed pitcher Robert Suarez was low, which would’ve tied the game up on a bases-loaded walk on ball four.

Home plate umpire Edwin Jimenez, however, called a third strike and the Pirates didn’t score any runs.

Davis was stunned, but Kelly immediately ran out of the dugout and confronted Jimenez, demanding an explanation for the call and ended up ejected.

The Pirates went on and lost the game 3-2, which saw players like McCutchen and right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller show their displeasure with the umpire crew.

Kelly praised his players’ effort against top bullpen arms in Suarez and right-handed pitcher Jeremiah Estrada and also, clearly, didn’t care for the call.

“Honestly, the way our guys battled against two of the best relievers in the game, to comeback in that situation, get the bases loaded,” Kelly said. “Henry grinds out an at-bat. Obviously, I did not agree with the call and you know, it’s just unfortunate, that he battles that far in that at-bat, all our guys. That inning, again, against two of the best relievers in the game, to get into that situation, it’s just unfortunate.”

Kelly makes it three ejections since taking over as manager of the Pirates on May 8, after the front office dismissed Derek Shelton.

He got his first ejection in his second game in charge vs. the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on May 10 and then his second ejection against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on May 16.

Kelly said that Jimenez said nothing to him during his time out of the dugout and that the Pirates have to earn the respect from umpires going forward.

He also praised his team for fighting back in the game and that it means a great deal as the season moves on.

“As a team, we just got to go out and earn it,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to go out and earn that respect. We’ve got to play with a chip on our shoulder and find a way to overcome those situations. It was something that, like I said, was an unfortunate call, in a big moment.

“It happened in Philadelphia a few weeks ago. Happened again tonight and just proud of the guys and the way they competed against those two guys especially and I think that it’s something to take forward.

“We’re right there with these guys. We’ve got guys on base. In Arizona, we came up with some big hits. We just go to keep grinding and earn that respect.”

Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates