Nick Pivetta dominates Diamondbacks, leads Padres to win

Nick Pivetta took the ball for the San Diego Padres looking to help his team snap a three-game losing streak and a potential sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He turned in a dominant pitching performance that included four hitless innings to start the game, while leading San Diego to an 8-2 win over Arizona.

Pivetta held the Diamondbacks without a hit through the first four innings. He walked Josh Naylor on a curveball that missed at the top of the zone to start the bottom of the fifth inning. Eugenio Suarez made Pivetta pay for the walk in the next at-bat with a two-run home run to left field to make the score 4-2 in favor of the Padres.

After the home run, Pivetta returned to form and retired the next three batters in order. He did not allow another hit to the Arizona lineup until Naylor singled in the bottom of the seventh. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made a bid for another hit with a deep drive to center field, but Brandon Lockridge, who was in the lineup for Jackson Merrill after he was placed on the Concussion IL before the game, tracked down the ball at the wall to end the seventh.

Pivetta completed seven innings, allowing two runs on two hits with one walk and nine strikeouts.

San Diego started the scoring in the top of the fourth with an RBI-double to left field from Xander Bogaerts. He followed Gavin Sheets, who walked to start the inning, and gave the Padres a 1-0 lead.

Jake Cronenworth dealt a critical blow to Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly in the next at-bat. Cronenworth won a 10-pitch battle with Kelly when he sent a two-run homer over the right field wall to give San Diego a 3-0 lead.

The San Diego offense continued its support of Pivetta, adding a run in the top of the fifth and two more in the top of the seventh to give the Padres a 6-2 lead. San Diego added two more runs after Pivetta’s exit, scoring two runs in the top of the ninth to make the score, 8-2.

Fernando Tatis Jr. led the San Diego offense with four hits, which included two doubles. He also scored three runs and recorded an RBI. Tatis Jr. added a stolen base, giving him 15 stolen bases on the season. Gavin Sheets and Elias Diaz were the only other Padres batters with multiple hits. Sheets finished his day 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. Diaz finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, which came on a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning. Five other San Diego batters recorded a hit in the win and the Padres outhit the Diamondbacks 13-3 for the game.

The Padres head to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers, Monday at 7:10 p.m.