PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes put together his second straight solid start, keeping San Diego hitless until the sixth inning of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 7-1 win over the Padres on Tuesday night.
Skenes (2-1), who was rocked during an , struck out six and walked two in 6 1/3 innings while lowering his ERA to 5.54. The Padres’ first of two hits against the 23-year-old was a clean single to left by Fernando Tatis Jr. with one out in the sixth.
Xander Bogaerts homered off Skenes — the first round-tripper given up by a Pittsburgh starter this season — with one out in the seventh. Skenes exited to a loud ovation from the announced crowd of 9,061 on a chilly night as the Pirates won for the sixth time in seven games.
Oneil Cruz hit a two-run double off Nick Pivetta (1-2) in the fifth and Nick Gonzales added a two-run single to start a five-run eighth for the Pirates. Skenes and three relievers combined on a three-hitter.
Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin picked up the second and third hits of his major league career. The 19-year-old had an infield single in the fifth and scored from first on Cruz’s laser down the left field line. He added a line drive to center for a two-run single in the eighth, a few hours after Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said some ingredients for Griffin were “in place.”
Pivetta was dominant through four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. The veteran right-hander gave up two runs on four hits with a walk and a season-high eight strikeouts.
Up next
The series wraps up on Wednesday. Michael King (0-1, 3.38 ERA) starts for the Padres against Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller (1-0, 1.50).
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