Padres blanked 1-0, drop second straight to Pirates
San Diego was shut out 1-0 by Pittsburgh to close a series that ended a 3-2 stretch, while new co-owner Kwanza Jones made her first public splash and the Padres turn to a home date with the Pirates.
A scoreless finale sinks San Diego
Pirates2-3Pirates0-1The Padres were shut out 1-0 by the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 25, per @jonmorosi's final score, a night after San Diego lost the series' first game 3-2 on August 24. The two losses came right on the heels of a strong run, with San Diego going 3-2 in its last five games before Pittsburgh arrived.
That surge was built in part on Michael King's outing of 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB and 7 K, one of the starts that carried San Diego through its stretch against Minnesota before the offense went cold in back-to-back losses to close the week.
Kwanza Jones makes her introduction
Padres co-owner Kwanza Jones was formally introduced this week, and Barstool Bush covered her arrival Tuesday in "Kwanza Jones Introduced as New Padres Owner, Full of Energy." @StoolBaseball's post on the introduction, via @jordiebarstool, quoted her declaration that "We're Gonna Win And Win It All," while @barstoolsports called it a start that had "already created a dynasty."
Foul Territory's @MartyCaswell flagged the new ownership group's line about spending within their means, noting Jones and husband José E. Feliciano are "the richest ownership group the Padres have ever had." Foul Territory also reported Jones wrote and produced her own entrance song for the introductory press conference, inspired by Fernando Tatis Jr.'s grand slam robbery — the kind of buy-in a club sitting at an elimination number of 21 in the Wild Card race will take.
Upcoming
the Padres host the Pirates this afternoon, with Randy Vásquez (9-6, 4.19 ERA) on the mound for San Diego after a strong last start against Minnesota on August 21 — 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 K, 0 BB. Pittsburgh counters with Bubba Chandler (6-8, 4.38 ERA), who lasted just 4.0 innings and allowed 4 earned runs in his last start against the Dodgers on August 21.
San Diego is favored to take the finale, and the total reads as middling given the two clubs' recent form. Vásquez's command against a shorter, shakier outing from Chandler is the case for the number holding — it breaks down if the Padres' bats stay as cold as they were the last two days.