This is how the Padres hoped games would go from the start of Spring Training:
Get a solid five or six innings from the starter, have some of the established stars on offense drive in enough runs to build a lead, and let the dominant bullpen take over.
It hasn't happened too often this year but the formula worked (despite a shaky ninth inning) on Saturday night at Petco Park in a 4-3 win over the Pirates.
Rookie lefty Joey Lucchesi got the start and had a few control issues but nothing to get himself into trouble. Lucchesi threw five shutout innings, allowing one hit with five strikeouts but four walks pumped up his pitch count a little too high. Coming off a stint on the disabled list the Padres are not letting their high-upside youngster over-stress himself yet.
Lucchesi left with the lead (and got the win) because Wil Myers is starting to work his way back into hitting shape. Myers, who was also recently overcoming an injury, hit a solo home run and a two-run double against Rancho Bernardo High School alum Trevor Williams to get the Padres a 4-0 lead.
Myers hit three balls on the nose on Friday night and continued making solid contact Saturday. He missed nearly two months with an oblique strain. The home run was his first since April 2 against the Rockies.
Pittsburgh got one run off reliever Matt Strahm in the 6th inning but nothing against Craig Stammen or Kirby Yates. Yates threw a perfect 8th inning to lower his season ERA to 0.79. If he is not an All-Star something is terribly wrong with baseball.
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In the ninth inning, the guy who was an All-Star last year had his latest less-than-stellar outing. Brad Hand allowed back-to-back doubles and then Gregory Polanco hit a line drive to right that was horribly misplayed by Hunter Renfroe. Polanco ended up on third base and the Pirates had the tying run standing just 90 feet away.
Hand rallied to get a pair of shallow fly balls (both run down by Renfroe this time) then struck out Starling Marte to end the ballgame. Hand has allowed seven earned runs in his last five innings. He's regarded as San Diego's biggest trade chip but a few more outings like this might have teams shying away or at least putting together less-desirable offers featuring lower-grade prospects.
The Padres start July with a Sunday afternoon game in San Diego. Tyson Ross, who has been the subject of a growing number of trade rumors, takes the mound against Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon.
