As much as the Padres love their jewel of a downtown ballpark, I don't think anyone on the current roster would have a problem if PETCO Park was replaced by Pittsburgh's PNC Park.
The Padres beat the Pirates 5-0 on Saturday night, their 11th straight win in the Steel City. Since PNC Park opened in 2001, the Padres have gone 28-9, never losing a series, or even consecutive games there.
Starting pitcher Jason Marquis was stellar. He took a no-hitter into the 7th inning. It was finally broken up on an infield single by Travis Snyder. Marquis finished with a complete game, 2-hit shutout, evening his record with the Padres at 6-6.
The Padres offense was led by Chase Headley (again). In the 1st inning, Headley hit a solo home run, his 18th of the year. Headley also homered in his final two at-bats Friday night.
Chase followed his home run with an RBI groundout, a bases loaded walk and a pair of strikeouts. In the month of August, Headley has already hit 6 homers and driven in 18 runs and only played in 10 games.
I suppose it was a good idea not to trade him at the July 31 deadline.
Headley's latest bomb came off A.J. Burnett, who suffered his first loss of the season at home (he'd been 7-0 at PNC this season).
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NOTES:
- All-Star closer Huston Street was placed on the 15-day Disabled List with a calf strain. Street suffered the injury on the final out Friday night.
- The Padres can sweep the Pirates behind former Pittsburgh starter Ross Ohlendorf, who pitched for the Pirates from 2008-2011. He'll face Eric Bedard.
