SD2, PIT1: Stults Swashbuckles Bucs

The Padres flipped the script tonight and maintained some of the best pitching in the National League.

For the second game in a row in beautiful PNC Park, the Padres and Pirates have clamped down on each other and kept the total runs for the night at 3. The only difference tonight is that the Padres are the ones who came out on top, scoring twice as much as Pittsburgh!

Baseball can seem like poetry sometimes, and tonight the boxscore almost perfectly rhymed with last night. The Friars collected one less hit, and one more run. The 'Rats had one more hit, but one less run. Eric Stults struck out six tonight, matching the total for the pitching last night. And all the scoring took place in the first inning.

The most important action of tonight was recorded as the following: an Everth Cabrera single, a Yangervis Solarte single, a Tommy Medica hit by pitch (not the scary one), and a Jedd Gyorko single to drive them in. Yasmani Grandal tied up the inning with a sac fly, and the Padres were quickly up 2-0. The Pirates retaliated with an RBI single, posting the game at 2-1, but the score wouldn't budge for the rest of the night.

The scarier part of the night, scarier than Pirates, was when Tommy Medica was pegged for the second time. The pitch whipped up and out and caught a good chunk of Medica's helmet, knocking it clear off. Very fortunately, Medica was only left a little light-headed and walked off the HBP. Jesse Hahn would end up pinch-running for him while Tommy could be evaluated by Pittsburgh doctors.

Tommy used the back of his noggin to dampen the impact of a 93MPH wild sinker.

During Buddy's post-game interview he gave us a partially relieving update:

"He was evaluated by the Pittsburgh team doctor and he checked out fine. They're going to keep him for a while tonight, but the early signs are he's fine and he'll be able to go back to the hotel."

Extremely concerning stuff after seeing Marlin pitcher Dan Jennings' insane brush with a come-back hit to the head. Medica let reporters know that he was feeling fine, a bit light-headed, and that the pitch did crack his helmet. Good news is that his handsome face was unscathed, but as a concussion precaution he will still see the 7-day DL.

With the series now split, Friar-hero and real-human-bean Tyson Ross will take the mound to secure the Padres' historically good record against the Buccos in PNC park. With the series win tomorrow we will notch another series victory in our undefeated run as visitors to PNC Park since its opening. Knock on wood some more.

Seven of ya showed up today, few enough to allow abara to win the rec game with only 3. Left with a few bases-loaded situations the entire thread was ultimately edged the entire game.