SAN DIEGO - The Pirates had the kind of afternoon that’s been haunting them all season: chances everywhere, runs nowhere.
They lost 3-0 to the Padres on Wednesday at Petco Park, finishing off a series in which the bats never quite found the one swing they needed. Pittsburgh went 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position, stranded 10 and was shut out for the 15th time this season, including the seventh time since the All-Star break.
“You can throw any number of excuses out, but plain and simple, we just didn't do it,” Brandon Lowe said. “We just need to get the job done. We had the opportunities to do it and didn't do it."
That pattern has followed the Pirates through this road trip, where they’ve gone 8 for 54 (.148) with runners in scoring position. Four of those hits came in the first game of the Dodgers series, which says plenty about how little has clicked since.
The missed chances piled up in bunches. Pittsburgh left the bases loaded in the fourth and seventh, then left two runners on in both the sixth and eighth.
The eighth inning felt like the one that might finally crack open. Oneil Cruz, coming off Tuesday’s homer off Mason Miller, came up after singles from Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez.
Instead, Cruz struck out. Nick Gonzales followed with another strikeout, and Jake Mangum bounced out to second to end it.
The Pirates also had a useful-looking pitching matchup on paper against Padres right-hander Randy Vasquez, who entered the day allowing a .305 average and .855 OPS to left-handed hitters. None of that translated. Pittsburgh kept putting balls in play too quickly, and Vasquez rolled through five scoreless innings while allowing just one hit.
“When you're going up there and one after another guys aren't getting the job done, you feel it because guys want to get it done,” Kelly said. “But how do we stay in that approach, stay simple and have confidence and the belief in ourselves to go up there and get it done?”
Bubba Chandler did enough to keep the Pirates around. He worked 5 2/3 innings, gave up two runs, one earned, on four hits and two walks, and struck out three while throwing 54 of his 83 pitches for strikes. He said, “Thought I threw fine,” and added, “Did a good job of controlling the running game and pitching with guys on base.”
Chandler got a double play to end the first, and in the second Rafael Flores Jr. showed off his revamped throwing by nailing left fielder Luis Rengifo at second base. But the Padres still struck first in that inning, with Jackson Merrill doubling before Rengifo followed with a line-drive single to right on a 1-0 four-seamer up in the zone for a 1-0 lead.
Pittsburgh made another costly mistake in the fourth. Nick Gonzales committed an error on a rushed throw wide of first, and Manny Machado scored after reaching. Merrill then drove a line-drive triple to right at 103.6 mph to make it 2-0.
The Pirates had another opening in the sixth, but Jake Cronenworth made one of several standout defensive plays in the series, diving fully extended to snag a liner from Reynolds and keep the shutout intact.
The loss dropped Pittsburgh to 65-70, and it left them staring at a missed sweep that could have set up the final three games in St. Louis with a chance to come home at .500 or one game under. Even so, the Pirates still took two of three and earned their first series victory against the Padres since July 2023.
“Coming into a place like this and playing a team like this and walking out with a series win is still a good thing,” Lowe said. “Obviously everybody in here is upset we didn't walk away with three of them.
But it's a very good team on the other side of it, and we took two out of three. Let's keep the momentum going and play well in St.
Louis."
In Other News...
Spencer Horwitz Has Become A Real Problem For The Pirates Lineup
Spencer Horwitz came back into the Pirates lineup on Aug. 2 after missing 33 games with a left hamstring injury and a concussion, but the offense has not gotten the lift it hoped for. Instead, his return has been part of a broader slide for a club whose second-half production has tailed off, leaving far too much pressure on the middle of the order to carry the load.
Horwitz has admitted he has not been at his best since rejoining the group, and the timing has only made the slump feel heavier. With Pittsburgh still trying to stay in the playoff race, the bigger concern is no longer just one hitter finding his timing, but whether the lineup as a whole can start producing enough to make the push matter. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Face A Telling Decision On A Power Bat They Need
The waiver wire has put Eugenio Surez back into the spotlight, and that matters for a Pirates club that has been looking for more right-handed punch in the middle of its lineup. Cincinnatis decision to place the veteran third baseman on outright waivers opens a 48-hour window for interested teams, and Pittsburgh is among the clubs weighing whether the fit makes enough sense to act quickly. Surez has been better since the All-Star break, which only adds to the appeal for a team still searching for offense.
For the Pirates, the question is less about talent than timing and commitment. Any claiming club would take on the rest of Surezs salary, which is just under $3 million, a manageable cost for a player who could deepen the lineup and potentially stabilize a corner-infield spot. Whether Pittsburgh sees enough reason to move now, though, will come down to how it values the bat against the risk of adding another piece before the waiver clock runs out. [Read more 🡒]
Oneil Cruz Is Making The Pirates Ask What Might Have Been
Oneil Cruz gave the Pirates a familiar flash of why he matters so much to everything they try to build. Back from injury, he homered against Mason Miller and helped push Pittsburgh to a 1-0 win, a reminder that even in a season defined by missed time, his bat can still change the mood of a game in one swing.
Cruz has still managed to put together a strong 2026 season, hitting .257 with an .833 OPS, 17 home runs, 22 stolen bases and 52 RBIs in 72 games despite the fractures in his left hand that kept him out for a stretch. That production only sharpens the question around the Pirates now, because when a player with that kind of power and speed is healthy, the missed opportunities start to feel even bigger. [Read more 🡒]