A recent unfortunate turn of events occurred in San Diego, as the Padres dropped two of three to the Cincinnati Reds, including the series finale in which the offense completely sputtered. Not only did the team sit three games back of the Dodgers in the NL West standings entering Thursday, but it also wasted a tremendous outing by Nick Pivetta, who continues to look like an ace.
Pivetta lowered his season ERA to 2.73 after tossing seven scoreless innings, allowing only four hits and striking out eight. The seventh inning was marked by great defense, as the final out recorded was Ramón Laureano robbing Ke’Bryan Hayes of a would-be home run, preserving the shutout.