PITTSBURGH -- The Padres completed a winning road trip with an 8-2 victory over the Pirates on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park.
“Really good road trip,” said manager Craig Stammen, whose team went 4-2 on the two-city tour after also winning two of three at Fenway Park over the weekend. “We played pretty good, showed some toughness this trip.”
Here are some reactions from Wednesday’s finale:
Bench depth paying off
Manny Machado received his first day off on Wednesday afternoon -- about five months earlier than his first day off last season.
There are layers to that. For one, Machado -- who deeply values the ability to play every game -- has been amenable to receiving more rest days this season. It’s not his preference. But the Padres think it’ll help him over the course of the summer and into October. Machado was at least willing to try it.
But here’s the other important part: On the days Machado rests, the Padres believe their bench is constructed in such a way where the drop-off won’t be so stark. At least, not as stark as it’s been in recent seasons.
On Wednesday, it was Miguel Andujar who replaced Machado at third base. He went 2-for-4, while sparking a four-run seventh-inning rally.
Andujar is clearly not Machado. Not with the bat. Certainly not with the glove. But he’s a notable upgrade on some of the other options the Padres have used to replace Machado in recent seasons.
And it’s not as though moving Andujar to third base robs the Padres of a potent bat at first base or DH. Gavin Sheets and Nick Castellanos were major contributors on Wednesday as well.
That was always the idea behind the final stages of the Padres’ offseason. They added Andujar, Castellanos and Ty France over a two-week stretch in early-to-mid February.
“That’s how we built a roster with all those guys,” Stammen said. “... When we give those guys that are playing most every day a day off, it’s still a pretty darn good lineup out there with guys that can do damage.”
Castellanos finding a niche
The Padres and Pirates were scoreless through six, when Castellanos came to the plate with two men in scoring position following Andujar’s double in the seventh. Castellanos laced a double of his own, plating two runs, as the Padres took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Castellanos went 4-for-11 with a walk on the road trip. He’s started games at first base, DH and left field this season -- along with a trio of pinch-hitting appearances. For a player who had spent the majority of his career as a regular at a specific position, it’s been an adjustment.
But Castellanos seems to be making that adjustment. He’s trying out new ways to stay ready for his DH or pinch-hit at-bats. He’s doing first-base reps pregame. He’s finding what works.
“I’m honestly kind of making it up as I go along,” Castellanos said earlier this week. “I’m making sure I come in in the middle of the game and I stay moving. Which is kind of hard for me, because I feel like I’m away from the dugout, away from the game. I’ve always felt like if the game’s going on I need to be next to it. So I’m just adapting. I’m a rookie at this.”
Rangy Ramón
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill receive plenty of plaudits for their outfield defense. Tatis is a two-time Platinum Glove Award winner. Merrill is a shortstop-turned-center fielder who made that transition seamlessly as a rookie.
“It’s not a secret, they are tremendous ballplayers that play with great range,” said left fielder Ramón Laureano. “We have two shortstops there. They can cover a lot of ground. Not like I can keep up with them.”
Laureano is selling himself short. In case you needed a reminder, there he was chasing down two of the biggest outs of the game on Wednesday with two diving catches.
In the seventh, the Pirates finally got to Padres starter Michael King, putting two runners aboard. Stammen called for lefty Kyle Hart, which prompted a pinch-hit appearance from top prospect Konnor Griffin. Griffin laced a hard liner down the left-field line that could have been ticketed for the corner, but Laureano made a sliding catch. The Pirates scored two in the frame and trailed by two -- but could’ve easily had more.
An inning later, Laureano laid out to rob former teammate Ryan O’Hearn. The Pirates would threaten, bringing the potential tying run to the plate later in the inning. But Tatis tracked down the final out in the right-center-field gap, and the Padres would score four times in the ninth to put the game out of reach.