Pirates beat Padres 3-2 in finale
San Diego dropped the finale to Pittsburgh 3-2 as new co-owners Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano made their first public appearance while the club still holds the NL's third Wild Card spot.
Robbie Ray's five strong frames wasted
Pittsburgh beat San Diego 3-2 on August 24, closing out a series the Pirates won 3 games to 2. Robbie Ray gave the Padres 5.1 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 earned runs and 2 walks while striking out 5, but the bullpen and offense couldn't hold the door for him.
Pirates2-3The loss left San Diego 3-2 over its last five games after a sweep of Minnesota was bookended by losses to the Mets and Pirates. At 71-61, the Padres sit behind the Cubs (76-56, +5.0) and Phillies (73-59, +2.0) in the NL Wild Card race but ahead of Arizona (69-63, 2.0 back), with an elimination number of 22.
Join us live at 1 p.m. PT for Kwanza and José's introductory press conference. 📺: t.co/wqdvPgYIHX
Kwanza Jones lands, and Barstool notices
Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano's introductory press conference on August 25 was the story of the Padres' week, and Barstool covered every minute of it. @StoolBaseball ran the line "We're Gonna Win And Win It All," per @jordiebarstool, while @barstoolsports wrote that the one-day-old ownership had already built "a dynasty" and separately called Jones, after five minutes on the job, "the most passionate owner in sports." Barstool Bush's own coverage, "Kwanza Jones Introduced as New Padres Owner, Full of Energy," posted August 25, covered the introduction directly.
Kwanza Jones has owned the Padres for 5 minutes & is already the most passionate owner in sports
Foul Territory's Marty Caswell noted that Jones and Feliciano are "the richest ownership group the Padres have ever had," after the pair talked about spending within their means. MLB Trade Rumors reported August 17 that MLB owners had approved the sale to Feliciano and Jones. Jones also produced and wrote an entrance song inspired by Fernando Tatis Jr.'s grand slam robbery for the pair's introduction, per Foul Territory.
Upcoming
The Padres host the Pirates tonight, and it's Michael King (8-9, 3.38 ERA) against Paul Skenes (9-11, 3.95 ERA). King's last start was a 6.2-inning, 2-run loss to the Mets on August 19, with 4 strikeouts, 2 walks and 4 hits allowed. Skenes lasted just 4.1 innings against Detroit that same night, giving up 3 earned runs on 4 hits with 5 strikeouts and 4 walks in a no-decision.
San Diego is favored at home, and the total points to a low-scoring game, which tracks with King working back from a rough final line against New York and Skenes still searching for the form that got away from him against the Tigers. For the number to hold, King needs to look more like the pitcher with a 3.38 ERA than the one the Mets touched for two runs, and the Padres' bullpen needs a cleaner night than it managed in the finale against Pittsburgh.