Trio of homers helps Pirates take series from Padres

Searching for their first series win in July, the Pittsburgh Pirates used the long ball to overcome the San Diego Padres, 3-2, Wednesday afternoon.

The first home run came from Ji Man Choi, who knocked in his sixth big fly of the year in the second.

Manny Machado evened the scoring with a double in the third, but Bryan Reynolds reclaimed the lead for Pittsburgh in the fourth with an opposite field home run.

Carlos Santana added an insurance run in the top of the ninth with a solo home run, marking his 12th homer of the year and third of the series.

Johan Oviedo broke his winless streak after allowing just one run on three hits through six innings. He also collected five strikeouts. Carmen Mlodzinski and Colin Holderman bridged the gap for David Bednar who, despite allowing a run in the ninth, struck out Trent Grisham on a foul tip to end the game.

With Tuesday night’s incident involving Machado and Pirates reliever Angel Perdomo still fresh in everyone’s minds, three more batters were hit with pitches on Wednesday.

Oviedo hit Xander Bogearts with a fastball in the third. Nick Martinez followed by hitting Jack Suwinski in the eighth. Then, Jake Cronenworth was hit by a pitch in the ninth.

No one was ejected as a result of these incidents, nor did the benches and/or bullpens clear.

The Pirates return to action Friday night as they open Yinzerpalooza against in-state rival Philadelphia.