The Pittsburgh Pirates began a crucial three-game series against the San Diego Padres on Monday, hoping to turn things around during a disastrous August collapse. However, instead of breaking their losing streak, they squandered another outstanding starting pitching performance, marking their eighth consecutive loss and highlighting the very issues that led to their downfall.
Jake Woodford started for Pittsburgh and delivered an excellent performance, giving up just three hits, one earned run, and no walks over six innings. Yet, it still wasn’t enough. Despite getting a runner to second base in six different innings, the Pirates only managed to score one run, leaving 10 men stranded on base and going just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They left runners on in eight of the nine innings and ultimately lost to the Padres by one run.
