SAN DIEGO -- Chris Stratton sat at his locker, watching video. After he put the iPad down, he put his hands behind his head and stared into his locker for a minute.
During that time, Duane Underwood Jr. came behind him and gave the veteran reliever a pat on the back and a word of encouragement.
“Ever since I came here, he’s been my go-to," Underwood told me regarding Stratton.
Stratton had just gotten burned out on the mound. Pitching in a tie game in the bottom of the 10th inning Sunday at Petco Park, the Padres' Trent Grisham tried to square up the first pitch to advance the automatic runner to third base. Two pitches later, Grisham instead decided to swing and hit the foul pole in right, winning it for the home team, 4-2.
“He’ll be the first one to tell you he threw a pitch where the guy was bunting," Wil Crowe told me. "Everyone in the stadium thought so.”
Sunday was the third straight game decided at the wire between these two clubs. On Friday, the Padres won it in the eighth. On Saturday, Ke'Bryan Hayes delivered a winning home run in the ninth. The only reason Stratton was able to pitch the ninth and 10th of this game was because Hayes and Josh VanMeter delivered hits in the eighth to tie the game late again.
If it was a measuring stick series, the Pirates lost two of three but more than held their own.
"One moment, one play, one pitch," Derek Shelton said. "I think if you look at both sides of the field, we have a lot of young players on the field, they have a lot of veteran players on the field. We have to continue to talk to our guys about the situations."
Underwood was more direct with that same idea, pointing out the elephant in the room.
"As a team, they’ve got a lot of veterans, got a lot of money on that team," Underwood said. "Us as a team, not really funded or paid. We don't have a lot of veterans."
According to Spotrac, the Pirates have a major-league payroll of $68.3 million, 27th in Major League Baseball. The Padres have the fifth-highest at $217 million.
“Just got to keep grinding, figure out ways to get wins late," Underwood continued. "We’ve got a lot of gritty dudes around here. We’ll figure it out.”
Wil Crowe was even more direct.
“It’s how the ball falls," Crowe said. "If we have three good weeks and the ball’s falling our way, we’re gonna be on people’s radar. I think teams are going to start to realize it’s not 'just the Pirates.’ No, f— that. We’re a good f—ing team, and we believe it. We’ll play hard all the way through. We don’t give up. We don’t give up ABs. We play to the end end of it. Sometimes it doesn’t fall our way, like today.”
The lack of veterans makes Stratton's role with his fellow players so vital. And what makes his inconsistency this year -- he has recorded a 4.58 ERA and had a -0.51 win probability added entering play Sunday -- a tough blow for the bullpen.
His fellow relievers still support him with full chest.
“He means a lot to the pitching staff," Underwood said. "The way he talks, the way he goes into work every day. Just a consistent person, consistent pitcher. Just all around great teammate.”
“We’re here for him," Crowe said. "It’s not like he’s fighting this alone. We’re all here for him. We’re one.”
It sure seems that way, from the look and the increasingly bold sound of it all. Maybe a vital sign of growth.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Perhaps Grisham would have stayed squared to bunt -- or even start swinging out of the gate -- had it not been for a fortuitous Padres bounce in the top half of the inning. With Hoy Park on third on two outs, Luis Garcia threw away a sinker that missed low and away to Hayes, but it hit the brickwork right back to catcher Jorge Alfaro, who tagged Park out at the plate:
"We got a really crappy bounce there," Shelton said.
"I tried to do that," Hayes said, lifting his arm to give the stop signal. "But he didn’t see it, I guess."
• After the game, Park was seen with his left hand bandaged.
Park was recalled from Class AAA earlier that day after Ben Gamel was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring. Assistant general manager Kevan Graves said on 93.7 The Fan Sunday that the club is hopeful it will be a short stint on the IL.
•"If you like pitching, and you like young pitching, those were two guys that are going to pitch in the major leagues a long time and have a lot of success.”
Shelton is absolutely right, and the matchup of young studs Roansy Contreras and MacKenzie Gore lived up to the billing.
Contreras, making his second start of the season, was on the hook for two runs on a Jurickson Profar fifth inning home run that hit the top of the wall in right and bounced over.
He struck out three and walked just one, working around five hits over five innings.
Gore countered with seven shutout innings of two-hit ball, striking out nine.
"Ro has electric stuff," Hayes said. "Gore has been throwing really well all year. It was a battle."
"That’s the stuff that I like," Contreras said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez. "I love to compete. I love the adrenaline rush that we get up there. Obviously there were some things that didn’t work out in my favor. However, I did enjoy being out there and competing. Just the aggressiveness and everything that came through the adrenaline of the game."
• Per a source, the Pirates are acquiring infielder Yu Chang from the Guardians. More on that here.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: OF Ben Gamel (hamstring) RHP Heath Hembree (calf), OF Jake Marisnick (thumb), 1B Yoshi Tsutsugo (lumbar muscle strain), Daniel Vogelbach (hamstring)
• 60-day injured list: OF Greg Allen (hamstring), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery), Kevin Newman (groin), Roberto Pérez (hamstring, out for season)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Rodolfo Castro, SS
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Bryan Reynolds, DH
4. Josh VanMeter, 1B
5. Diego Castillo, 2B
6. Jack Suwinski, CF
7. Cal Mitchell, RF
8. Tyler Heineman, C
9. Tucupita Marcano, LF
And for Bob Melvin's Padres:
1. Jurickson Profar, LF
2. Ha-Seong Kim, 3B
3. Eric Hosmer, 1B
4. Luke Voit, DH
5. Jake Cronenworth, SS
6. Robinson Cano, 2B
7. Jorge Alfaro, C
8. Trent Grisham, CF
9. Jose Azocar, 2B
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates will head north to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers on Memorial Day, first pitch will be at 10:10 p.m. Eastern. Zach Thompson (2-4, 5.50) will face Walker Buehler (6-1, 2.91) to start the three game series.
THE CONTENT
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