Padres, Pirates continue 2nd straight weekend duel (Aug 05, 2017)
PITTSBURGH -- San Diego Padres manager Andy Green found himself second-guessing his decision to stick with starter Travis Wood at the start of the sixth inning Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Wood didn't get an out, giving up a homer and a bloop single before being lifted.
"The first four innings were outstanding," Green said of Wood. "Sixth inning, I look back on that and am kind of upset with myself for him starting that inning. I could have gone straight to the bullpen."
San Diego's bullpen wasn't the answer, either, though. The Padres (48-60) burned through five relievers and still watched as the Pirates (53-56) came from behind for a 10-6 win.
San Diego, which won two of three against Pittsburgh last weekend at home, opted to go with the same starting three pitchers this weekend at PNC Park.
That's still the plan, but Green isn't worried that he depleted his bullpen -- although he might shy away from using Kirby Yates in the second game of the series Saturday after Yates got rocked for six runs and four hits in one-third of an inning and took the loss.
"It's fine," Green said of his bullpen. "Every single one of those guys that pitched wasn't necessarily extended to the point where they couldn't throw again (Saturday).
"The cumulative effect, if that happens day after day after day, it starts to add up, but coming off the off-day (Thursday), everybody's good."
Pittsburgh, which is trying to break a string of four straight series losses, used four relievers, including setup man Juan Nicasio and closer Felipe Rivero for an inning each.
But the Pirates were busy basking in the glow of a satisfying win more than they were calculating for Saturday.
"A good win. All I can say," second baseman Josh Harrison said. "We never gave up. We got down early, but just kept fighting. Those are the wins you enjoy right there."
San Diego rookie right-hander Dinelson Lamet (5-4, 5.62 ERA) will make his 12th start, seventh on the road, on Saturday.
Last Saturday, Lamet earned his second consecutive win and third in his past five starts by surviving a long first inning in a 4-2 win against the Pirates in San Diego.
He threw a career-high 104 pitches, including 27 in the first inning. He allowed both Pirates runs on two hits and two walks in six-plus innings. His seven strikeouts gave him 75 in 57 2/3 innings.
"I knew I had thrown a lot of pitches there (in the first inning)," Lamet told the San Diego Union Tribune through an interpreter. "So going forward, from the second inning on, I was really just trying to be efficient and get outs early in the count."
Lamet has lasted five innings or more in eight of his 11 starts, and worked at least six innings in five of his last seven starts.
He'll face Pittsburgh's Gerrit Cole (9-7, 3.97 ERA), who also had a win in last weekend's series between the clubs.
Backed by Andrew McCutchen's three homers, Cole and the Pirates won 7-1 Sunday to avoid a sweep in the series and close out a disappointing 3-6 road trip.
"It was big to try to salvage (the 3-6 road trip) a little bit," Cole told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Cole has had five straight quality starts, with a 2.25 ERA during that stretch. In five career starts against the Padres, he is 4-1 with a 1.47 ERA.
