Padres come back to beat Pirates, take third consecutive series

Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Jun 1, 2025

Published in Baseball

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SAN DIEGO — Following a familiar path to what seemed a practically inevitable loss, the Padres’ dormant offense woke up on Sunday.

Suddenly, it all looked familiar in a different way.

Just as they had done so often over the season’s first five weeks, the Padres constructed a big inning by manufacturing runs. They overcame a multi-run deficit. They won a game that was in question late.

The Padres scored four runs in Sunday’s seventh inning and beat the Pirates, 6-4.

After making 12 straight outs in the middle of the game while letting a 4-1 deficit linger, the Padres scored one run in the sixth and then sent 10 batters to the plate in the seventh.

The seven baserunners they had in the seventh inning were two more than they had in a 5-0 loss Saturday. Their eight hits Sunday were three more than they had in the previous two games combined.

Sunday was the Padres’ seventh time overcoming a deficit of two or more runs. It was their 12th victory secured after trailing or being tied in the seventh inning or later.

And despite their offensive woes of late, they have won three consecutive series.

Gavin Sheets ran into the outfield wall trying to chase down a home run and then walked off the field in the fourth inning.

Manny Machado’s home run gave the Padres a 1-0 lead in Sunday’s first inning.

A walk by Oneil Cruz and Andrew McCutchen’s second home run in two days flipped the lead in the third inning, and the Pirates added a run that inning on a double and single. Padres starter Randy Vásquez, who would last just 3 2/3 innings, escaped that inning when Ke’Bryan Hayes rounded first base too far after his RBI single and was thrown out trying to get back to the bag.

It was on Adam Frazier’s home run leading off the fourth inning that Gavin Sheets was injured.

Sheets reached up at the last instant while running into the wall with his left shoulder, followed quickly by his face.

As the ball bounced off the top of the wall and into the seats, Sheets fell to the warning track and laid there for several minutes before walking off the field accompanied by two athletic trainers and manager Mike Shildt.

Some smiles were cracked as the group departed. Sheets’ arm and body had left an indentation in the wall.

Brandon Lockridge took over in left field.

Padres relievers Wandy Peralta, David Morgan and Adrián Morejón got them through the seventh before Jason Adam continued the scoreless work in the eighth and Robert Suarez did the same in the ninth.