(AP) — Luis Arráez hit an RBI double to cap a three-run ninth inning that put the San Diego Padres ahead for a 7-6 win and series sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon.
With San Diego down 5-4, Pirates closer David Bednar (3-4) gave up a single to Xander Bogaerts and walked Jackson Merrill to start the ninth inning before striking out David Peralta and walking Ha-Seong Kim to load the bases. Bogaerts scored on a grounder from Kyle Higashioka before Oneil Cruz tossed a double play attempt past first, letting Merrill score the go-ahead run.
Bednar, who gave up a tying home run to Merrill in the ninth inning of a 9-8 loss that went 10 innings on Wednesday, was pulled after Arráez tacked on what became the winning run with a double to right.
San Diego has won five straight and 14 of 16 to move within 2 1/2 games of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead.
The Pirates have lost four in a row and five of six. Down 4-0, they scored three runs in the sixth inning.
Jason Adam (6-2) gave up a lead-off single before retiring the next three in the eighth inning.
Robert Suarez was tagged by a two-out double from Joey Bart in the ninth ahead of an RBI single from Rowdy Tellez. Suarez then struck out Bryan De La Cruz on three pitches for his 25th save.
Cruz opened it with an RBI single to the right-center gap but was thrown out at second. Tellez and Cruz then hit two-out singles off Randy Vásquez to put runners on the corners. Carl Edwards Jr. entered, threw a wild pitch that brought in Tellez and allowed an RBI single to Ji Hwan Bae.
After Cruz’s third single of the day, Bart sent a 3-2 fastball from Yuki Matsui 419 feet to left-center for his ninth homer of the season for a 5-4 lead in the seventh.
Manny Machado and Peralta each hit a two-run home run off Luis Ortiz in the first two innings for the Padres. Ortiz allowed four runs and four hits in six innings.
Vásquez gave up three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
