Pittsburg, PA

Pirates Bullpen Squanders Lead in Loss to Padres

Published

9 months ago

June 1, 2025

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.

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

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Pittsburg, PA

Silovs makes 22 saves, Penguins shut out Golden Knights | NHL.com

Published

5 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Silovs makes 22 saves, Penguins shut out Golden Knights | NHL.com

Vegas allowed two power-play goals on Pittsburgh’s four chances after giving up one on 12 opportunities the previous four games.

“I think we just had poor execution all game long,” Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith said. “Obviously, our penalty kill has been pretty good for us and that wasn’t good enough tonight.”

Rickard Rakell pushed it to 4-0 on another power play at 15:06, stopping a shot from Karlsson with his left skate and wrapping a shot around Hill.

Brazeau scored on a wrist shot from above the right circle at 14:59 of the third period for the 5-0 final.

“Second period, they took it to us,” McNabb said. “We were out of it, basically.”

NOTES: With goals from Kindel, Chinakhov and Brazeau, the Penguins have 73 goals by players in their first season with the team. It’s the most in the NHL this season and 13 more than the next closest (the Anaheim Ducks, 59). … The Golden Knights have been outscored 9-1 in the first and second periods of their first three games out of the break for the Olympics. … Karlsson has 908 points (204 goals, 704 assists), tied with Scott Stevens (908 points; 196 goals, 712 assists) for the 13th-most by a defenseman in League history. … Vegas forward Mitch Marner had a point streak end at six games (seven points; four goals, three assists).

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Pittsburgh and Vegas take the ice for non-conference matchup

Published

18 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Pittsburgh and Vegas take the ice for non-conference matchup

Vegas Golden Knights (28-17-14, in the Pacific Division) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (30-15-13, in the Metropolitan Division)

Pittsburgh; Sunday, 1 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Golden Knights -149, Penguins +125; over/under is 6.5

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vegas Golden Knights square off in a non-conference matchup.

Pittsburgh has a 14-8-7 record at home and a 30-15-13 record overall. The Penguins have scored 197 total goals (3.4 per game) to rank 10th in NHL play.

Vegas is 28-17-14 overall and 14-9-7 in road games. The Golden Knights are 27-6-8 in games they score at least three goals.

Sunday’s game is the first meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Anthony Mantha has 21 goals and 23 assists for the Penguins. Benjamin Kindel has six goals and one assist over the last 10 games.

Mark Stone has 21 goals and 38 assists for the Golden Knights. Pavel Dorofeyev has seven goals and three assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 7-1-2, averaging 4.2 goals, 7.1 assists, 3.3 penalties and 6.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.

Golden Knights: 4-4-2, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.8 assists, 2.6 penalties and 5.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game.

INJURIES: Penguins: None listed.

Golden Knights: None listed.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Oneil Cruz Powers Pirates Past Astros

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

PITTSBURGH — Oneil Cruz needs to have a great season for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2026 and his strong Spring Training continued in their most recent victory.

Cruz hit a three-run home run off of Houston Astros right-handed pitcher Jayden Murray in the top of the fifth inning, playing a big role in the 5-2 victory at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla.

He waited on a changeup on the second pitch, 85.1 mph over the middle of the plate and sent it 106.4 mph off the bat and 368 feet, scoring both left fielder Billy Cook and third baseman Alika Williams with two outs.

That marks the first home run for Cruz in the Grapefruit League, who has had a great Spring Training so far, slashing .538/.600/.846 for an OPS of 1.446 in five games, with seven hits in 13 at-bats.

Pittsburgh got the win after the top of the sixth inning, after a rain delay ended the game.

Pirates Rookie Pitchers Have Up-And-Down Showing vs. Astros

Right-handed pitcher Braxton Ashcraft made his second start for the Pirates in the Grapefruit League and dominated vs. the Astros.

Sep 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft (67) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Ashcraft threw three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and a walk, while posting two strikeouts for Pittsburgh.

Former Pirates pitcher, right-handed starter Mike Burrows, countered Ashcraft for the Astros. He threw three scoreless innings himself, allowed one hit and a walk and posted four strikeouts.

The Pirates traded Burrows to the Houston Astros in the three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Dec. 19, that landed them second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and left-handed relief pitcher Mason Montgomery.

Right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler made his second appearance for the Pirates in the Grapefruit League and threw two innings.

Chandler immediately loaded the bases, walking both third baseman Carlos Correa and first baseman Christian Walker, then giving up a single to center fielder Cam Smith.

He came back and struckout right fielder Taylor Trammell and got left fielder Zach Dezenzo to pop out, but gave up a single to second baseman Brice Matthews and a run to the Astros, before ending the inning with a strikeout.

Chandler also gave up a solo home run to Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes, on a slider down in the zone.

He finished his outing with three hits, three walks and two earned runs allowed over 1.1 innings pitched, before left-handed pitcher Derek Diamond got the last two outs of the inning.

Chandler struggled in his first Spring Training start vs. the New York Yankees at LECOM Park in Bradenton on Feb. 23, where he allowed four earned runs over 1.2 innings of work.

Feb 23, 2026; Bradenton, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler (36) throws a pitch during the second inning against the New York Yankees at LECOM Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Pirates will need better showings from Chandler, who should serve as a key piece of their starting rotation in 2026.

Other Important Notes from Pirates Victory

The Pirates added two runs in the top of the sixth inning, as Cook hit a single that scored second baseman Nick Yorke and then Williams singled, scoring Cook to make it a 5-2 ball game.

Cook had just one hit in eight at-bats coming into this game and scored twice in the victory, as he walked before the Cruz home run.

Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna led the Pirates with two hits, a good sign for them, as they’ll rely on him greatly for his power and hitting in 2026.

The Pirates are now 7-2 in the Grapefruit League and tied with the Yankees for the top of the standings.

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

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