Padres 4, Pirates 2: Pirela and Margot have stellar nights against Nova

On a night when the Padres promised post-game fireworks, the Friars snuck a few of their own in during the game. Manuel Margot had the biggest hit of the night, a leadoff home run in the fifth, but Jose Pirela wasn’t too shabby himself, hitting two triples off Pirates hurler Ivan Nova. Dinelson Lamet looked a lot better than his opponent, throwing six shutout innings before getting dinged for a pair of runs in the seventh.

The Pads scored early, with Margot leading off the first with a single before swiping second. Not that he needed to; Pirela’s first triple of the night was going to score him from any base. Hector Sanchez made the most of what is likely his last start for a little while, bringing Pirela home with a double to right field.

The lead grew to three when Cory Spangenberg led off the fourth with a single to right. Spangy hustled home courtesy of a double into the left field corner from Hunter Renfroe. And then Margot’s fifth-inning solo shot capped the San Diego scoring at four.

Things got a little hairy when Lamet went out for the top of the seventh inning. He beaned leadoff man Andrew McCutchen, and then he gave him a free trip to third on a couple of wild pitches. A walk to Josh Bell got Andy Green out of the dugout and Lamet off the mound. Craig Stammen didn’t do a whole lot better. David Freese hit him for a single to score McCutchen, and then Adam Frazier hit another single to load the bases. Stammen miraculously got a 4-6-3 double play after that, though Bell crossed the plate in the process. After he walked the next batter, Green called in Phil Maton, who wrapped up the seventh and cruised through the eighth. A 1-2-3 inning from Kirby Yates ended the night and gave the Padres a series win.

Clayton Richard will look for the sweep when he takes the mound at 1:40 PM tomorrow.