Padres Get Shutout Return From Pivetta In 3-2 Win Over Nats
· Yahoo Sports
The San Diego Padres rode a shutout start from Nick Pivetta and some early offense from their trio of stars to get another important 3-2 win against the Washington Nationals in the first game of their three-game series.
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It was a remarkable return from Pivetta, whose start was just announced last night, and he was on a tight pitch count. The Padres gave Pivetta a small cushion in the first as a single by Fernando Tatis Jr. followed by a Manny Machado double made it 1-0 as they struck first off Washington starter Jake Irvin.
The Padres added a run in the third with the same combination, as Tatis singled, got to second on a fielder’s choice and scored on a Machado single. Jackson Merrill then singled Machado home to give San Diego a 3-0 lead.
Pivetta had two good innings then a shaky third, as he gave up two hits in that inning and barely made it through the inning as he threw a total of 43 pitches, 26 for strikes at that point. But he buckled down to get six straight outs, and his final line had him giving up two hits to go with two strikeouts.
The Nats came back in the sixth off reliever Kyle Hart, who was first up in the bullpen to pick up Pivetta. The two-out rally started wtih a single from Abimelec Ortiz, and Dylan Crews made it a one-run game with a home run to left center to make it 3-2.
That put the pressure on the Padres relievers, as the offense didn’t do much after the third inning. Jackson Merrill had a three hit game, and so did Tatis, with Machado getting two to go with a single from Xander Bogaerts as all San Diego could manage.
The relievers who followed Hart to the mound were excellent, however. Bradgley Rodriguez and Adrian Morejon each pitched scoreless innings to get to the ninth, which put the game in the hands of Mason Miller. Miller did surrender a single to Crews after striking out the first two hitters, but he got a grounder to short to get the third out and pick up his 34th save.
The Padres have now won three of four since their disastrous road trip, but the victory didn’t help them in the standings as the Arizona Diamondbacks got a wild comeback win against the Kansas City Royals in extra innings.