Kim, Cronenworth, Darvish lead Padres over Pirates 7-3
By JOHN PERROTTO
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ha-Seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth homered, and Yu Darvish pitched six effective innings to lead the San Diego Padres to a 7-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.
Kim was 2 for 4 with a two-run home run in the second inning to tie the game at 2. Cronenworth, who also went 2 for 4, then belted a solo shot in the seventh to finish the scoring.
The Padres got their fourth straight win and ninth in the last 11 games. Trayce Thompson hit a two-run single for San Diego.
Darvish (2-1) allowed three runs and eight hits while striking out five and walking one. Taylor Rogers got the last two outs for his eighth save in nine opportunities after the Pirates put two on base in the ninth inning.
Zach Thompson (0-3) gave up four runs in 3 1/3 innings. Acquired from Miami in an offseason trade for Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings, Thompson has a 10.05 ERA in four starts.
Daniel Vogelbach hit two RBI singles for Pittsburgh, and Diego Castillo and Andrew Knapp also had two hits. Pittsburgh has a four-game losing streak.
The Padres scored two runs in the fifth inning to break the tie. Cronenworth’s line-drive single off second-base umpire Jeremie Rehak’s lower leg plated the first run and Manny Machado followed with a sacrifice fly.
Cronenworth is 8 for 24 with two home runs and a triple in his last seven games.
Vogelbach drew the Pirates within a run in the bottom of the inning with a single. But Trayce Thompson pushed the Padres’ lead to 6-3 in the sixth. He was called up from Triple-A El Paso a day earlier.
The Pirates opened the scoring in the first inning with run-scoring singles by Vogelbach and Castillo. Kim evened it at 2-2 with his 425-foot homer to the left-field bleachers.
CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
The Pirates have yet to get a win from a starting pitcher through 20 games. The MLB record to a begin a season was set by Baltimore in 1989 when the Orioles went 0-21 to start the year.
TSUTSUGO SITS
Slumping Pirates first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo was out of the lineup for the second straight day. He spent extra time in the batting cages before the game with hitting coach Andy Haines.
Tsutsugo has a .185 batting average and no home runs in 16 games this season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: RHP Mike Clevinger (Tommy John surgery) is expected to make his season debut next week during a two-game series at Cleveland. Clevinger has been out since undergoing surgery following the 2020 season. He spent the first five seasons of his career with Cleveland before being traded to the Padres in 2020. … LHP Blake Snell (strained left groin) threw four scoreless innings for High-A Fort Wayne on Thursday in his first rehab start. The 2018 AL Cy Young winner has yet to pitch for the Padres this season.
Pirates: INF/OF Cole Tucker remained on the COVID-19 injured list but participated in pregame drills. … RHP Max Kranick (right forearm strain) was activated from the 10-day IL and optioned to Indianapolis. … RHP Duane Underwood Jr. (right hamstring strain) began a rehab assignment at Low-A Bradenton … Knapp was in the lineup a day after being a late scratch because of a non-COVID illness.
UP NEXT
Padres: LHP Sean Manaea (2-2, 3.47 ERA) will start Saturday night. He was tagged for six runs in 4 1/3 innings in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last start after allowing three runs in 19 innings in his first three outings.
Pirates: RHP JT Brubaker (0-2, 6.46) lost to the Chicago Cubs in his previous start, lasting just two innings and surrendering four runs.
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