The San Diego Padres dropped a pair of games to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Petco Park, but the real headlines belonged to Andrew McCutchen. On June, McCutchen blasted a two-run homer off the Padres, tying Roberto Clemente for third-most home runs in Pirates history with 240. His milestone shot came just a day after he passed Arky Vaughan for ninth on the franchise hits list, underscoring his enduring impact at age 38.
The Padres’ offense struggled in the series, managing just four runs in the June game and being shut out 5-0 the night before. Closer Robert Suarez, a key bullpen arm for San Diego, was not called upon in the late innings as the Padres failed to hold leads and generate late-game rallies..
With McCutchen’s historic performance and the Padres’ recent scoring woes, all eyes are now on how San Diego will adjust their pitching strategy—and whether Suarez will get more opportunities to close out tight games as the season continues.
