Padres 2, Pirates 1: Ian Kennedy Makes Quick Work Of Pittsburgh

Send Ian Kennedy to Somalia, because he destroys pirates. He racked up eight strikeouts in seven shutout innings. Pittsburgh managed to sneak one by setup man Luke Gregerson, but had no such success against Huston Street. The Pirates' Gerrit Cole was no slouch today either, but the offense managed to chip away at him for a pair of runs in his six innings of work.

Will Venable continued his hot hitting by picking up a leadoff double in the third inning. Chris Denorfia moved him to third, bringing Yonder Alonso to the plate. He hit a high fly down the left field line, but it wasn't deep. Will went anyway, and Felix Pie didn't get the perfect throw he needed to catch the speedster at the plate. The top of the order delivered again in the fifth. Denorfia knocked a two-out single to center, then stole second. Alonso picked up his second RBI of the day with a line drive to left.

The Pirates tried to make a comeback after Kennedy left the game, and there was certainly room for concern. Pie walked to start the eighth, moved to second on a fielder's choice, then took third on a passed ball. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen. Gregerson struck out Pedro Alvarez before handing the reins over to Street. He struck out the first two batters and got Gaby Sanchez to fly out, securing the save and the preventing the sweep.

The Cubs come to town Friday as Edinson Volquez takes the hill against Edwin Jackson at 7:10 PM.

Friar Fever picked up the most comments, but Axion led the game with four recs.