Padres hand Bucs 10th straight loss

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Infielder Brandon Wood was asked if the Pittsburgh Pirates could glean anything positive from their just-completed homestand, one that goes into the books as the worst in 125 years of franchise history.

“Well,” Wood said, pondering the team’s 10-game losing streak, “this is going to end at some point.”

It doesn’t feel that way right now for the Pirates.

Mat Latos and the San Diego Padres beat Pittsburgh 7-3 Sunday. In less than two weeks, the Pirates have sunk from first place in the NL Central to 10 games behind.

Latos’ mastery continued the misery for the Pirates, who completed an 0-7 stay at PNC Park against the last-place Padres and Chicago Cubs, two teams that were a combined 39 games under .500 when the week began.

Pittsburgh was winless on a homestand of at least seven games for the first time in franchise history. No team in the majors has had a homestand that long without a win since Kansas City in May 2006.

“It’s obviously not easy right now,” second baseman Neil Walker said. “As baseball players, we’ve all gone through some sort of stretch like this, whether it was from a personal or a team standpoint. Nobody likes the feeling that we have right now.”