Game Thread: Padres at Pirates, 4/15/21

San Diego Padres (8-5) at Pittsburgh Pirates (5-7), Thursday, April 15, 2021 @ 12:35pm

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T Sports Pittsburgh

Radio: KDKA-FM 93.7 The Fan

Padres SB Nation Site: Gaslamp Ball

Starting Pitchers

Pirates - Mitch Keller - RHP - 1-1, 4.50 ERA, 11 K

Padres - Chris Paddack - RHP - 0-1, 5.63 ERA, 6 K

Probable Starting Lineups (subject to change)

Pirates

1. Adam Frazier (2B)
2. Kevin Newman (SS)
3. Bryan Reynolds (LF)
4. Colin Moran (1B)
5. Erik Gonzalez (3B)
6. Gregory Polanco (RF)
7. Jacob Stallings (C)
8. Dustin Fowler (CF)
9. Mitch Keller (P)

Padres

1. Trent Grisham (CF)
2. Jurickson Profar (RF)
3. Jake Cronenworth (2B)
4. Manny Machado (3B)
5. Eric Hosmer (1B)
6. Ha-Seong Kim (SS)
7. Tucupina Marcano (RF)
8. Luis Campusano (C)
9. Chris Paddack (P)

The Padres/Pirates series went from one extreme to the other the past two nights—from an incredibly sloppy game on both sides Tuesday night to a fairly tight one last night. Joe Musgrove, former Buc/current Daddy, he of the second-most recent no-no in MLB (Carlos Rodon of the White Sox now has the newest, throwing a beauty against Cleveland last night) came on with his 0.00 ERA and his 2-0 record—and promptly had all that wiped out. In a delicious bit of irony, the destruction came at the hands of Gregory Polanco, who whacked one over the Clemente Wall and managed to get on base every time he came to the plate. Tyler Anderson got his first win as a Pirate, and the Pirates took two in a row as they beat the Padres 5-1.

Mitch Keller takes the mound for the Bucs today. He’s coming off a solid performance against the Cubs on Saturday, allowing one run over five innings, walking only one and notching seven strikeouts. The Padres have Chris Paddack on the hill, who has been meh—he’s lasted just four innings in each of his two starts.

I’m still in “dude, it’s April” mode, but I have to say it—the Pirates have been fun to watch as of late. There’s a confidence in the team that hasn’t been there recently. The bats are waking up, the pitchers don’t freak if they get into trouble, and everyone seems to be having fun. Keep it up, guys.

The game thread is open. Bring your best GIF game and dad jokes, and, as always, LET’S GO BUCS!