Padres' Bats Finally Woke Up and the Pirates' Five-Game Win Streak Is About to Get Real

The San Diego Padres are done looking pathetic at the plate. After limping through the start of the season with a league-worst .190 batting average and a .553 OPS that made you want to cover your eyes, they just beat the Boston Red Sox in back-to-back games, including an 8-6 victory on Sunday. This matters. A lot. Because if these bats keep doing what they did in Boston, the Padres are about to turn this season around fast.

The Offense Finally Showed Up When It Mattered Most

Sunday's win was a wake-up call in the best way possible. Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Jackson Merrill combined for eight of the Padres' 12 hits, and it was enough to break through against the Red Sox. Machado hit his first home run of the season. The Padres scored more runs in that game than they had all season, which tells you how bad things had been. In fact, in nine games, they'd only scored more than three runs twice. Both times came during this three-wins-in-four-games stretch they're riding right now.

Padres manager Craig Stammen was blunt about what it takes to win: "Just to see Jackson go 3-for-5, Manny go 2-for-4, and Bogaerts go 3-for-3, if we get those guys moving the baseball the way they did today, we're going to win a lot of baseball games." That's not hype. That's fact.

Marquez Gets a Chance to Bounce Back Against a Pirates Team Running Hot

German Marquez takes the mound on Monday night with a 0-1 record and a 12.00 ERA that screams disaster. His last time out against San Francisco was rough. he lasted three innings, gave up four runs on eight hits including two homers, and struck out just one. The Pirates will counter with Bubba Chandler, who's 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in his first start of the season. Chandler threw 4 and a third hitless innings against Cincinnati on Tuesday but walked six batters. He threw 81 pitches and hit 100 mph on his fastball, but command was all over the place. "I just wasn't executing," Chandler said after that game.

Here's the silver lining for Marquez: he's dominated the Pirates in his career, going 6-1 with a 1.89 ERA in seven starts. He'll need every bit of that history because Pittsburgh is absolutely raking right now with five straight wins and 12 home runs in nine games.

Pittsburgh's Offense Is a Different Beast This Year

The Pirates came into this season with serious questions about their power. Not anymore. Offseason pickups Brandon Lowe and Ryan O'Hearn are delivering, and Oneil Cruz is off to a strong start. Nick Yorke delivered the walk-off hit on Saturday against the Orioles and had another hit on Sunday. Even with Jared Triolo going down with a right knee injury, the Pirates recalled outfielder Billy Cook from Triple-A Indianapolis and kept rolling.

Monday night is the opener of a three-game set in Pittsburgh. The Padres' bats finally woke up. Now they have to prove it wasn't just a Boston thing.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.