Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Seth Smith hit a three-run triple to give the San Diego Padres an 8-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the rubber match of a three-game set.
Jedd Gyorko and Yonder Alonso each drove in a pair of runs for the Padres, who took the final two games after dropping the opener.
"I think it's just a matter that we're playing much better right now," said San Diego manager Bud Black. "You know, early in the season we had our problems, but we worked on them and it's paying off now."
Tyson Ross (11-10) pitched six innings and gave up two runs on six hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts to win his fourth straight decision.
Charlie Morton (5-11) was beat up for five runs on five hits and a walk over five innings for the Pirates, who had won three straight prior to losing the final two contests. Gregory Polanco hit a two-run home run in the loss.
"He just lost control of his sinker for a while there," said Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle about Morton. "His execution was great there for a while, but he just lost it for a bit and they made him pay."
The Padres trailed by a run heading into the fifth, but the team loaded the bases with two outs and Smith cleared them with a triple off the wall in left. Smith then scored on a wild pitch for a 5-2 lead.
In the seventh, San Diego added to its advantage as Alonso lofted a sacrifice fly to left that plated Alexi Amarista for a 6-2 advantage.
Ross capped his start by setting down three batters in a row in the sixth after giving up a leadoff single to Jordy Mercer. Blaine Boyer then worked a 1-2-3 seventh before Dale Thayer struck out the side in the eighth.
Gyorko's two-run single in the ninth accounted for the final score.
As happened in the previous two games, the Pirates scored their only runs in the first inning as Starling Marte led off with a single and Polanco followed with his sixth home run of the season. Ike Davis walked with one out and Mercer singled, but Ross retired the next two batters to end the inning.
San Diego got one run back in the fourth when Yangervis Solarte walked with one out, moved to second on a Smith groundout and scored on Alonso's single to make it a 2-1 game.
Game Notes
Pittsburgh second baseman Neil Walker was going to start this game, but was scratched from the final lineup due to a back problem ... Each team won three games in the season series ... San Diego hosts Colorado for three games beginning Monday ... Pittsburgh hosts Detroit for a four-game series beginning on Monday ... The Padres have won all 14 series they have played at PNC Park. The last time they lost a series in Pittsburgh was in July 2000 at Three Rivers Stadium ... Morton fell to 3-1 in five career starts against the Padres ... Ross improved to 1-1 in three starts against the Pirates ... San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera was a late scratch with a left hamstring cramp. He was replaced by Amarista.
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