The Sports Xchange
Jul 29, 2017
SAN DIEGO -- Travis Wood pitched six solid innings and added an RBI single in his Padres debut, lifting San Diego over the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 on Friday night.
Cory Spangenberg had two extra-base hits for the Padres, one of which drove in a run.
Three Padres relievers pitched the final three innings to combine with Wood on a three-hitter. Brad Hand worked the ninth for his sixth save as he extended his scoreless-innings streak to 19 1/3 innings.
Wood (2-3) came over to the Padres in Monday's trade with the Royals. With Kansas City, Wood was used mostly out of the bullpen, having just three starts among his 28 appearances. The southpaw lost his only decision as a starter, never advancing to the fifth inning in any of the trio of outings.
But the Padres promised Wood a spot in the rotation and he responded. Wood, who had started three games in two years, retired the final 10 batters he faced.
Chad Kuhl pitched 5 1/3 innings, surrendering two runs, four hits and five walks, one intentional. He struck out four as the Pirates lost for third consecutive time.
The Padres scored twice in the sixth inning en route to their third straight win.
Spangenberg had the big hit, a one-out triple after Jose Pirela's single chased Kuhl. When reliever Daniel Hudson (2-5) walked Allen Cordoba -- who walked three times -- ball four was a wild pitch that scored Spangenberg.
The Padres made noise in the fourth, loading the bases with two outs as Kuhl struggled with his command, walking two. Wood came through with a run-scoring base hit, slicing the Pirates' edge to 2-1. It was Wood's first hit and RBI on the season.
But the Pirates caught a break by catching Cordoba napping. He was running with his head down after Wood's single and Jordy Mercer cut the throw home and threw behind Cordoba for the third out.
The Pirates struck in the third inning, when Andrew McCutchen blasted his team-high 19th homer, a two-run shot for a 2-0 lead. McCutchen turned on Wood's 85 mph cut fastball, depositing it in the left-field seats.
The two RBIs gave McCutchen 700 for his career, as he became only the 13th Pirate in franchise history to reach that milestone.
NOTES: Pirates OF Jordan Luplow was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis and started Friday. ... LHP Steve Brault was optioned to Triple-A. ... Padres C Austin Hedges (concussion) remains out but he could start on Sunday. ... RF Hunter Renfroe had the day off; he should be back on Saturday. ... Padres INF Yangervis Solarte (hamstring) is playing shortstop in his minor-league rehab games and will see time at the position when he returns soon.