Oneil Cruz hit a solo home run off Padres closer Mason Miller in the 9th inning to break a scoreless tie to lift the Pirates to a 1-0 victory over the Padres. Paul Skenes showed up and balled out with six shutout innings and no walks. He received a no-decision because the Pirates also couldn’t hit Padres starter Michael King, but Cruz was able to drive one against Miller to pull off another close win in San Diego. DiNardo and Neil break down this one on the NS9 Postgame Show powered by Primanti Bros. You can watch or listen here:

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Here’s my 3 takeaways from this one…

Best Skenes Has Looked in a While

Paul Skenes came out in San Diego Tuesday night and was efficient, had life on his pitches, touched 99 mph at one point and shut down the Padres for six shutout innings. He struck out four batters, walked zero and allowed just three hits. It’s his longest outing since July 19 when he went seven innings after extra rest coming out of the All-Star break and it’s the first time since May 12 that he walked zero batters. That’s the key for me that his control was suddenly back and I think it was the best he’s looked since those mid-May starts when he went 8.0 shutout innings in two straight starts. This was a huge performance from Skenes as he finally shows something positive for the first time in a while. Here’s his pitch count per inning:

1: 16
2: 19
3: 8
4: 15
5: 16
6: 13

He never reached 20 pitches in any inning and never fell into trouble, keeping the bases empty for the most part. He threw 87 pitches and gave the Pirates what they needed as the bats struggled against Michael King. It was actually an enjoyable start to watch Skenes duel the Padres in this win. Let’s hope he can turn this into some momentum for the rest of the season.

You Think This Team has Missed Oneil Cruz?

Since returning from the IL after a lengthy 2+ month absence, Oneil Cruz has hit three home runs in seven games. And all three home runs have been huge ones. His home run against Detroit last week gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead on their way to a 4-1 victory. His home run in LA against the Dodgers last Friday tied the game and forced extras. And in this game, it won a 1-0 game for the team who was struggling to hit King and anyone wearing a Padres jersey. It shouldn’t be understated—Cruz is a game changer and he’s showing why this team missed him so much. He’s been awesome in the seven games he’s been back and it’s making the folks that said trade him because you have Jake Mangum look silly. This team needs Cruz and they need him to be this version of Cruz. We were worried about the rehab and the length of the time he missed, but forget all that. Cruz looks healthy and locked in.

He homered off Mason Miller who hasn’t given up a home run all season before that Cruz at-bat. In fact, Miller has only allowed one home run in two seasons with the Padres! That’s 75 games and just one home run allowed. Unreal. That’s the kind of power Cruz has and it won the game for the Buccos and gives them a chance for the sweep Wednesday. Enjoy Greg Brown’s radio call and this sweet home run here:

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BRey Swung A Good Bat

Bryan Reynolds has been pretty awful in August. Coming into Tuesday’s game, here’s his numbers for the month:

96 plate appearances
0 HRs
5 RBIs
.224 average
.313 OBP
.282 SLG

A .282 slugging percentage…yikes. But in this 1-0 victory in San Diego, I thought Reynolds was swinging a good bat and it was encouraging. In the first inning, Reynolds doubled off King which was the only extra-base hit off King all night. In his second at-bat in the 3rd, Reynolds had an infield single to third base. In the 6th inning, he hit a drive 102.5 mph to deep center field that Jackson Merrill caught on the warning track that could have done damage. Expected batting average on that flyout was .750. He ripped that ball. He was the only one seeing King well. Not sure if one game will mean Reynolds is coming out of it, but let’s hope this 2-for-4 performance was a sign of good things to come. He hasn’t homered since July 28. Let’s end that Wednesday afternoon for the sweep.