Jackson Merrill hit two home runs, Xander Bogaerts drove in the go-ahead run with a single in a three-run 10th inning, and the San Diego Padres held on to win 9-8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.
Bogaerts started the 10th inning with a line drive to left field off Colin Holderman (3-5), bringing in automatic runner Luis Arraez. The Padres added two more runs with a sacrifice fly by Manny Machado and an error by catcher Yasmani Grandal.
The Pirates tried to close the gap with a bases-loaded walk by Tanner Scott (7-5) and a wild pitch by Adrian Morejon, who came in with runners on and no outs to secure his first career save.
“Just like I’ve said all season, I’m ready for whatever situation they put me in,” Morejon, a six-year veteran, said through a translator. “That situation was a little different than most of the situations I’ve been in, but I just tried to stay calm and get hitters out.”
San Diego is 13-3 since the All-Star break and was four games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West going into the game.
The Pirates have now lost three games in a row for the first time since May 7-10 and are below .500 with a record of 56-57.
Merrill had a strong performance, going 4 for 6 with three RBIs, including a solo home run in the ninth inning that tied the game at 6-6. That home run ended Pirates closer David Bednar’s streak of 19 consecutive saves.
“It was a good baseball game and that’s where I kind of stand at on this game,” said Merrill, a rookie center fielder. “I know everybody wants to win games in blowouts but both teams really wanted this game really bad. I appreciate a game like this both from our standpoint and (the Pirates’) standpoint.”
In the eighth inning, with the Pirates ahead by one run and runners on second and third, Aroldis Chapman struck out Machado with a 104.7 mph pitch to end the threat. Chapman and Machado then had a tense moment.
“Just something he told me. And then when he said it, I started laughing,” Chapman said with a smile, choosing not to go into detail about their conversation.
