The Padres scored in the first inning and again in the last two frames in Pittsburgh Tuesday night.
It was just that middle part of the game that wound up being the problem.
San Diego was outscored 6-0 from the start of the 2nd inning to the end of the 7th and grounded into four double plays.
The Pirates actually left more men on base (11) than the Padres did (5) but they capitalized enough to pull out a 6-4 victory in front of their hometown fans.
Wil Myers and Jabari Blash each hit solo shots to trim the deficit to just two runs, but Christian Bethancourt grounded into a game-ending double play to end the comeback threat in the 9th.
The Bucs took the lead for good in the 5th inning when Gregory Polanco smashed a 3-run bomb off of Padres starter Luis Perdomo to make it 5-2. San Diego could never fully recover from the deficit.
But you could argue the most exciting play came later that same inning on a RBI double by Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli.
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Jabari Blash tracked down the ball in deep right center and his relay throw to fellow rookie Ryan Schimpf was right on the money.
Schimpf threw a bullet home to Derek Norris who tagged out John Jaso trying to score from second base. Pittsburgh still led 6-2 after the sequence but the execution on the throws from Blash and Schimpf was a nice boost for the visitors.
San Diego however remained silent on offense until the 8th. That’s when Myers crushed his 22nd homer of the year.
Blash led off the 9th with a solo shot for his second career home run, but the rally ended shortly after that.
Blash finished 2-for-4 at the plate to raise his batting average above the Mendoza line (.204).
Yangervis Solarte also added a couple base knocks and is batting .298 to lead the team.
The Padres fell to 48-64 on the season while the Pirates moved within 2.5 games of the Marlins for the second NL wild card spot.
Edwin Jackson toes the rubber Wednesday while the Pirates send Ryan Vogelsong to the mound.
First pitch is slated for 4:05 p.m.
