Nick Gonzales's 12th-inning hit beats Padres
Nick Gonzales's go-ahead hit in the 12th gave the Pirates a 3-2 win over the Padres on August 24, though a 7.5-game deficit leaves little room to make up.
Gonzales delivers in the 12th
Padres3-2The Pirates beat the Padres 3-2 in 12 innings on August 24 in San Diego, per the series scoreboard. Nick Gonzales delivered the go-ahead hit in the top of the 12th, according to TalkinBaseball_ and FoulTerritoryTV. Esmerlyn Valdez went 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI, and Braxton Ashcraft worked 6.0 innings, allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run with 2 strikeouts. Yohan Ramírez closed it out with a perfect inning of relief, striking out 3.
The win halted a stretch that had seen Pittsburgh drop three straight to the Dodgers before Sunday's finish, leaving the club 2-3 in its last five games.
Seven and a half back of the team they just beat
| NL Wild Card | W | L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cubs | 76 | 56 | .576 | +5.0 |
 Phillies | 73 | 59 | .553 | +2.0 |
| Padres | 71 | 61 | .538 | — |
 Diamondbacks | 69 | 63 | .523 | 2.0 |
 Marlins | 67 | 65 | .508 | 4.0 |
 Cardinals | 66 | 66 | .500 | 5.0 |
 Pirates | 64 | 69 | .481 | 7.5 |
 Reds | 62 | 70 | .470 | 9.0 |
San Diego's 71-61 record still holds the National League's third and final wild-card spot, 7.5 games ahead of Pittsburgh's 64-69 mark. The Pirates' elimination number sits at 13. Ahead of the Padres in the race are the Cubs at 76-56, the Phillies at 73-59, the Diamondbacks at 69-63, the Marlins at 67-65 and the Cardinals at 66-66, with Pittsburgh behind all of them and only the Reds' 62-70 mark trailing the Pirates.
Beating the team that currently holds the spot they're chasing doesn't close a 7.5-game gap on its own, but it's the type of result the Pirates need to repeat if that elimination number is going to move.
Upcoming
Paul Skenes (9-11, 3.95 ERA) starts for Pittsburgh as the Pirates are in San Diego tonight. His last outing, on August 19 against the Tigers, was a no-decision — 4.1 innings, 3 earned runs, 5 strikeouts, 4 walks and 4 hits on 81 pitches. San Diego counters with Michael King (8-9, 3.38 ERA), who took a loss in his last start on August 19 against the Mets, working 6.2 innings with 2 earned runs, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks and 4 hits on 100 pitches.
The Padres are favored at home, and the market's low-scoring read fits two starters working with ERAs south of 4.00 — Skenes still chasing the missed-bats form that got him five strikeouts in Detroit, King coming off a shorter, sharper outing against New York. Pittsburgh's bullpen, fresh off Ramírez's scoreless 12th-inning work, will need to hold up again if Skenes doesn't finish six.