Edwin Jackson loves pitching against the Pirates.
He’s pitched for more than a third of the teams in Major League Baseball (11 to be exact) but in his lengthy career, Jackson actually owns the most victories (10) against Pittsburgh.
He added to that total after a fabulous outing Wednesday night in San Diego’s 4-0 win.
The journeyman baffled the Pirates and flirted with the first no-hitter in Padres history.
In fact, Jackson did not allow a base knock until Jordy Mercer led off the bottom of the 6th inning with a single.
With the exception of that hit and a single by Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh could not get any offense going.
Jackson limited the Pirates to a goose egg by allowing just two measly hits, while striking out seven batters and only walking three.
Local
He improved to 3-2 since joining the Friars. Ryan Buchter and Brandon Maurer each added a scoreless inning of relief to seal the shutout victory.
If Jackson keeps pitching like this the Padres will likely keep him in San Diego for a long time.
Travis Jankowski looks like a keeper too.
The young centerfielder caught the Pirates off guard in the 8th and stole home when catcher Eric Fryer lazily tossed the ball back to reliever Antonio Bastardo.
It reminded me of when kids in little league don’t pay attention and one player realizes they can catch someone napping.
Jankowski’s awareness was once again on display with that hustle and he now has 25 stolen bases this year. He finished with two hits and raised his batting average to .266 as well.
The Padres only managed six hits themselves but one came on another key play at the plate earlier in the 7th.
As Alexei Ramirez singled to left, rookie infielder Ryan Schimpf headed home from second base. He was greeted by Fryer after a quick relay through by the Pirates but deftly slid around the catcher’s glove and the home plate umpire correctly ruled Schimpf safe.
The play was reviewed and confirmed to give the Padres a 3-0 lead.
San Diego starting pitcher Christian Friedrich heads to the mound for Thursday’s 9:35 AM matinee while Pittsburgh counters with Jameson Taillon.
The Padres then head to New York for three games with the Mets starting on Friday.
