SAN DIEGO (AP) — Andrew McCutchen homered into the second deck in left field off Dylan Cease, Bailey Falter combined with three relievers on a two-hitter and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat San Diego 5-0 on Saturday night to snap a 10-game losing streak to the Padres.
McCutchen’s 396-foot shot leading off the fifth was his fourth of the season and left him one shy of tying Roberto Clemente for third on the Pirates’ career list at 240.
Falter (4-3) held the Padres to just two singles while striking out one and walking one in 6 1/3 innings. Caleb Ferguson, Dennis Santana and David Bednar provided hitless relief.
Cease (1-4), who threw the second no-hitter in Padres history on July 25, 2024, at Washington, has gone 10 starts since his only win, April 2 against Cleveland. He allowed three runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, struck out six and walked one.
The first three Pirates batters reached against Cease, with Bryan Reynolds hitting a single to bring in Oneil Cruz, who was aboard on a leadoff double. Cease retired the first two batters in the fourth before again allowing three straight Pirates to reach. Adam Frazier doubled and scored on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ single.
Two innings after McCutchen’s homer, the Pirates added on with two runs on four straight hits against Yuki Matsui with one out in the seventh. Reynolds hit an RBI double and Spencer Horwitz an RBI single. Bradgley Rodriguez came on to make his big league debut and got Alexander Canario to ground into a double play on his second pitch.
The 21-year-old Rodriguez, San Diego’s No. 14 prospect, fielded Canario’s weak grounder and threw to second baseman Jake Cronenworth to start the double play.
Falter went 3-0 in six starts in May.
Pirates LHP Andrew Heaney (3-4, 3.41 ERA) and Padres RHP Randy Vásquez are scheduled to start Sunday’s series finale.
___
AP MLB:
