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Bucs fall to Padres
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Pittsburgh Pirates’ Marlon Byrd, left, is tagged out by San Diego Padres catcher Nick Hundley while trying to score during the third inning of a game Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH
The Pittsburgh Pirates insist they’re not scoreboard watching as they try to chase the franchise’s first playoff berth in 21 years.
Good idea. At the moment the teams in their rearview mirror are inching closer by the day.
Jeff Locke’s second-half struggles reappeared and Pittsburgh’s offense again fell silent in a 5-2 loss to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.
The Pirates began the day tied with St. Louis for the NL Central lead but allowed Cincinnati and Washington — both in pursuit of playoff berths — to gain ground.
“Everybody’s aware of where we are, what’s going on,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “At the end of the day, we had a couple of opportunities we didn’t maximize on.”
A night after getting one-hit by San Diego’s Andrew Cashner, Pittsburgh managed just two runs against easy throwing Eric Stults (9-13).
The left-hander’s fastball only tops out in the mid-80s but kept the Pirates off balance by throwing a bevy of offspeed stuff that included a pair of changeups in the mid-60s.
“He’s learned how to pitch,” Hurdle said. “At the end of the day we’ve got to continue to work hard to get the most out of our offense.”
Andrew McCutchen went 2 for 3 and Marlon Byrd drove in both of Pittsburgh’s runs, but the Pirates continued to have problems with the Padres.
San Diego improved to 30-10 at PNC Park since it opened in 2001 by getting to Locke.
A surprise All-Star in July, Locke again had problems with his command, allowing four runs and seven hits in five innings, striking out five and walking three.