Padres waste scoring opportunities in 12th inning loss to Pirates
Fernando Ramirez
Host · Writer
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The San Diego Padres (71-61) dropped an ugly offensive battle to the Pittsburgh Pirates (64-69) in 12 innings, falling 3-2 on Monday night.
What was supposed to be the start of a new era under new ownership ended on a sour note.
The game reached the 12th inning when Jeremiah Estrada gave up a single to Nick Gonzales that brought Jared Triolo home for the eventual game-winning run in the Pirates' 3-2 victory.
“Seems like we were just kind of playing ping pong back and forth for a few innings there, and obviously they took advantage of their opportunity there in the 12th,” second baseman Jake Cronenworth said.
Monday night’s game looked like the pre-All-Star break Padres, as they went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
“Definitely some missed opportunities for sure,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “We're gonna regret losing that one. Feel like we had several opportunities to win the game. We made a great comeback to give ourselves a chance to win the game.”
Starting pitcher Robbie Ray had one of his better starts as a Padre. He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs while striking out five batters.
It was in the top of the sixth inning when Ray ran into trouble. First, he threw a four-seam fastball that Esmerlyn Valdez crushed to deep center field for his 15th home run of the season, giving Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead.
“Ended up leaving the fastball out over, and the guy made me pay for it,” Ray said. “Honestly, probably the only pitch that I'd like back the whole game. I felt like I was in a good rhythm, I felt like everything was kind of working. Just that one pitch.”
Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Aug 24, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez (55) points skyward after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Ray walked the next batter, Bryan Reynolds, but struck out Brandon Lowe before being taken out after reaching 99 pitches. On Bradgley Rodríguez’s fifth pitch, he gave up a double that Jackson Merrill tried to make a diving catch on, but the ball was just out of his reach. Reynolds came around to score, giving the Pirates a 2-0 lead.
The Padres had a good opportunity in the bottom half of the inning after Freddy Fermin started things off with a double. Dustin Harris grounded out, followed by a Fernando Tatis Jr. strikeout, but Fermin advanced to third base.
When Cronenworth came up to bat, there was a strange sequence in which it seemed like the inning was over, but the umpire called a balk on Braxton Ashcraft, allowing Fermin to score and cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Cronenworth came up clutch in the bottom of the eighth inning. With Harris on third base, Cronenworth hit a single up the middle on the eighth pitch of his at-bat to tie the game at 2-2.
He followed it up with a clutch defensive play in the top of the ninth inning. Closer Mason Miller struck out two Pirates before getting into trouble when he walked Triolo and then gave up a single to Gonzales, which moved Triolo to third base. Jake Mangum hit what looked like it would be a single to bring Triolo home, but Cronenworth made an outstretched diving grab and threw him out at first to end the inning.
“I think some of the bats he took tonight, and especially the defensive plays that he made, that really saved the game and gave us a chance to win,” Stammen said of Cronenworth. “You know, he played a very important game, and us having a chance and prolonging the game as long as we did.”
Cronenworth saved the game multiple times, but in the end it wasn’t enough, especially after the Padres failed to capitalize on a bases-loaded situation in the 11th inning when Xander Bogaerts lined out. Former Padres closer Kirby Yates was the man on the mound.
“Getting those extra innings where we hold them from scoring and then have an opportunity to with a guy on third and less than two outs to drive him in favorable matchup for us. But our old friend Kirby got out,” Stammen said.
Luckily for the Padres, the Chicago Cubs beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-0, so they still hold a 2.0 game lead in the NL Wild Card race.
The Padres will face the Pirates in Game 2 of the series on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m., with Paul Skenes (9-11) facing Michael King (8-9).
