SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The San Diego Padres’ (71-62) offense was again non-existent against the Pittsburgh Pirates (65-69), who did just enough to squeeze out a 1-0 victory.
In what had been a scoreless game in the top of the ninth inning with two outs, Padres closer Mason Miller threw a 98 mph changeup that Oneil Cruz launched into right field. His 17th home run of the season gave the Pirates the game’s only run.
"He's human,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said.
Miller had the quote of the night.
“Humans can be idiots sometimes,” Miller said. “Tip your hat. Good swing. Crushed it obviously. But I just can't be throwing that pitch (a changeup) in that spot."
The Padres closer had been used in four of the last five games, throwing 71 pitches over his last four appearances, including 30 on Monday night. He didn’t use the heavy workload as an excuse.
Stammen said his closer told him before the game that he was ready to go if needed.
“I felt good enough to go today and we had a lot of guys there yesterday,” Miller said. “I think that's part of my value and part of my responsibility to this team and to my teammates is to be available anytime that I can.”
Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Aug 25, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz (15) rounds the bases in front of San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (13) after hitting a solo home run during the ninth inning at Petco Park.
Miller hadn’t given up a home run since Aug. 5, 2025, to Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. until Tuesday night.
It was much of the same for the Padres’ offense, which mirrored its offensive output from Monday night by going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Over the last two games, the Padres have gone 1-for-20 with runners in scoring position.
Performances like these have been rare for a Padres offense that seemed to have turned things around since the All-Star break.
When the offense struggles, it is the stars who have the microscope on them. Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts went a combined 2-for-15 on Tuesday night.
On Monday night, they went 0-for-16, meaning they have combined to go 2-for-31 over the last two games. This team is not good enough offensively to consistently win games without its four highest-paid players hitting well.
“A lot of tough pitching we faced the last two days,” Stammen said. “We haven't been able to break through. We had a few guys in scoring position.”
Tuesday night featured a pitching duel between Michael King and Paul Skenes.
King went seven innings, allowing five hits and striking out seven batters while throwing a first-pitch strike to 24 of the 26 batters he faced. He has a 2.10 ERA over his last four starts.
“Definitely like to be trending at this point,” King said. “Got to continue to work and make these adjustments and continue to have these good items.”
There has been some talk about Skenes having a down year, but on Tuesday he showed why he is still an elite pitcher. He pitched six innings, allowed three hits and struck out four batters. The most impressive part? He allowed zero earned runs for the first time in a start since May 12.
“We faced the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner tonight, who had been struggling a little bit, but is definitely back on his game today,” Stammen said.
The bad news for the Padres came from Arizona.
The Chicago Cubs led the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 heading into the eighth inning. Arizona scored three runs in the eighth before Ryan Waldschmidt hit a walk-off two-run homer to give the Diamondbacks a 5-4 victory.
San Diego now has only a one-game lead over Arizona for the final NL Wild Card spot.
The Pirates will look for the sweep Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 p.m. PT. Bubba Chandler (6-8) will take the mound for Pittsburgh, while the Padres have yet to announce a starter.