Nick Gonzales’ RBI single in the top of the 12th inning Monday night lifted the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres.
Gonzales’ bouncer up the middle scored Jared Triolo, the automatic runner at second. The hit made a winner of Kirby Yates (2-5), who escaped a one-out bases-loaded situation in the 11th, and hung a loss on Jeremiah Estrada (2-3).
In the 11th, Yates got Jake Cronenworth to pop up a bunt for the first out but walked Manny Machado. After automatic runner Fernando Tatis Jr. and Machado executed a double steal, Ty France walked to fill the bases. However, Yates fanned Jackson Merrill and got Xander Bogaerts to line out.
Yohan Ramirez struck out the side in the bottom of the 12th to earn his second save.
Pittsburgh ended a three-game skid while stopping the Padres’ three-game winning streak.
The Padres forced extra innings when Cronenworth stroked a game-tying single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. The hit scored Dustin Harris, who doubled to left with one out and reached third on a flyout by Tatis.
Neither starting pitcher got a decision. Pittsburgh’s Braxton Ashcraft worked six innings, allowing four hits and a run with a walk and two strikeouts. San Diego’s Robbie Ray permitted five hits and two runs in 5 1/3 innings, walking two and fanning five.
Pitching dominated the first five innings. The Pirates created the best scoring chance, but Ray denied them after singles put men at the corners with no outs in the third. A shallow fly ball, a strikeout and a popup quashed that threat.
Pittsburgh finally broke through in the sixth when Esmerlyn Valdez hit a leadoff homer. The rookie turned on a 1-1 fastball off the outside corner and drilled it over the wall in left-center for his 15th homer. After Bryan Reynolds walked and Oneil Cruz whiffed, Rafael Flores Jr. greeted reliever Bradgley Rodriguez with a double to center that scored Reynolds.
The Padres got within 2-1 in the bottom of the inning. Freddy Fermin led off with a double and advanced to third on Harris’ groundout. Ashcraft slipped a called third strike past Tatis but balked with Cronenworth batting, scoring Fermin.
