SAN DIEGO (AP) — Michael King worked six scoreless innings, Manny Machado drove in two runs and David Peralta homered as the San Diego Padres beat Pittsburgh 3-0 on Tuesday night and sent the Pirates to their ninth straight loss.
The Padres won for the 18th time in 21 games since July 20 and claimed their eighth straight series. Conversely, the Pirates lost for the 11th time in 12 games.
King (10-6) struck out 10, allowed seven hits and didn’t issue a walk, throwing 70 of his 93 pitches for strikes. The 29-year-old right-hander won for the fifth time in six decisions since June 29.
Pirates starter Luis Ortiz (5-3) gave up two runs, one earned, and three hits with three strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
Ortiz worked out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the first inning, allowing an unearned run on a sacrifice fly by Machado that scored Luis Arraez as San Diego took a 1-0 lead. Pittsburgh’s Ji Hwan Bae made an outstanding diving catch on Machado’s sinking liner to save further damage.
With Machado on first in the fourth inning, Bae robbed San Diego’s Jackson Merrill with a leaping catch near the wall in center field to end the inning.
Peralta hit a 410-foot shot to right-center in the fifth inning off Ortiz to give San Diego a 2-0 lead.
Machado singled in Arraez from third base in the eighth against reliever Kyle Nicolas for an unearned insurance run.
The Pirates banged out eight hits, but stranded seven runners. Pittsburgh reliever Ben Heller pitched two scoreless innings.
Jason Adam and Tanner Scott each threw a scoreless inning in relief for the Padres. San Diego closer Robert Suarez worked a scoreless ninth for his 27th save.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: LHP Marco Gonzales was placed on the 60-day injured list with a left forearm strain, the same injury that caused him to miss three months of action from mid-April to mid-July. … RHP Ryder Ryan replaced Gonzales on the roster after being selected from the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians on Monday.
UP NEXT
Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (10-6, 3.56) will face Padres LHP Martin Pérez (2-5, 4.78) on Wednesday in the finale of the three-game series.
