Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Diego Padres Box Score on Jul 30, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jul 30, 2017

SAN DIEGO -- Andrew McCutchen had the third three-homer game of his career and right-handed starter Gerrit Cole held the San Diego Padres to one run on five hits over seven innings Sunday afternoon as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Padres 7-1 to end a five-game losing streak.

McCutchen homered in the first off Padres starter and loser Clayton Richard. Then he homered in the eighth and ninth off left-handed reliever Jose Torres, the third homer hitting the right-field foul pole.

The loss snapped the Padres' four-game winning streak at Petco Park.

Cole (9-7) issued two walks and hit a batter while striking out eight.

Richard allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings to suffer his fifth straight loss. Richard (5-12) leads the National League in losses, hits allowed (175) and earned runs allowed (80).

For five innings, the only difference between the Pirates and Padres was Andrew McCutchen's first-inning homer.

The Pirates center fielder drove a 1-1 Richard fastball 402 feet to center, the ball landing just beyond the leap of center fielder Manuel Margot.

The Padres had some opportunities against Cole.

Walks to Yangervis Solarte and Matt Szczur around the strike out of Hunter Renfroe put Padres on first and second with one out in the second. Cole then struck out Austin Hedges and retired Dusty Coleman on a grounder.

In the third, Margot and Carlos Asuaje had consecutive, one-out singles. Cole got Jose Pirela on a soft fly to left and struck out Solarte. Pirela led off the sixth with a double after the Pirates expanded their lead but never advanced.

Meanwhile, the Pirates scored three times in the top of the sixth to end the pitching duel between Richard and Cole.

McCutchen drew his second straight walk after homering. David Freese followed with a single. Jose Osuna then drove a Richard fastball to the gap in right-center, the ball skipping past right fielder Renfroe for a two-run triple. Jody Mercer singled home Osuna to make it 4-0.

Coleman ended Cole's shutout bid in the bottom of the seventh with the second homer in three games for the shortstop, who was called up from Triple-A El Paso on Monday.

McCutchen's second homer of the game led off the eighth and travelled 413 feet to center. It was the fourth multi-homer game of the season for McCutchen and the 15th of his career. His third homer came with two outs in the ninth after pinch-hitter Josh Bell opened the inning with a homer off Torres.

For good measure, McCutchen also made a diving catch in left center in the bottom of the eighth.

NOTES: The Padres activated C Austin Hedges and INF Yangervis Solarte from the disabled list Sunday and optioned OF Jabari Blash and RHP Kevin Quackenbush to Triple-A El Paso. Hedges had been on the concussion disabled list since July 11. Solarte had been out since June 21 with a left oblique strain. Sunday marked the sixth time this this season that Quackenbush has been optioned to El Paso. ... Pirates 2B Josh Harrison left the game in the third with lower-left-leg discomfort. Harrison hit the first bag awkwardly while reaching on an error. He stayed in for one pitch before leaving. ... LHP Kyle McGrath struck out two in a perfect seventh inning while becoming the ninth player to make his major league debut with the Padres this season.