Pirates pummeled by Padres, lose 10th straight in 3rd consecutive sweep

For much of this season, the Pittsburgh Pirates could depend upon staff ace Mitch Keller to take the mound during a rough stretch, deliver a strong outing and stop the bleeding.

Keller was unable to do that in his previous start Aug. 9 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, lasting just four innings.

He struggled again Wednesday afternoon as the Pirates’ losing streak reached 10 after an 8-2 rout against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

The Pirates were swept for the third straight series, including twice against the Padres.

Instead of Keller returning to form, the Padres’ Martin Perez — acquired from the Pirates on July 30 — struck out a season-high eight over 5 1/3 innings. Keller allowed eight earned runs.

“It looked like he left some balls up in the middle of the plate, and as we’ve talked about, with this Padres club, if that happens, the ball gets hit hard and that’s what happened,” manager Derek Shelton said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show.

The Pirates (56-64), who are a season-worst eight games under .500, have lost 12 of their past 13 games dating to July 31.

Last year, the Pirates (who finished 76-86) also suffered a 10-game losing streak from June 13-22.

The Pirates were in a three-run hole before managing one out in the bottom of the first inning.

Luis Arraez led off with a single, and Jurickson Profar got aboard on an infield hit that Connor Joe batted down at first but was unable to make a play on.

With runners on first and third, Jake Cronenworth crushed a 1-1 sweeper from Keller for a home run down the right-field line, putting the Padres up 3-0.

In the second, after Tyler Wade hit a two-out single, Michael A. Taylor made a diving attempt on a shallow fly ball off the bat of Arraez. Taylor came up empty, allowing Wade to score, making it 4-0.

Keller’s rough afternoon imploded in the third, as the Padres took an 8-0 lead.

After he walked Cronenworth and Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill hit a two-run triple, followed by David Peralta blasting a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw.

Keller (10-7, 3.95 ERA) lasted five innings, allowing eight hits and as many runs while walking two and striking out a pair.

Over his last two starts, he has allowed 15 hits and 15 runs.

“Go back, look it over, see what’s working, what’s not working, why it’s happening and just be better,” Keller said after the game. “… I didn’t give us a chance. That’s my job. I didn’t do my job today, and we suffered because of it.”

Perez, who had a 5.20 ERA with Pittsburgh at the time of his trade, kept the Pirates off balance, striking out five batters in the first two innings.

To begin the sixth, Joey Bart, who already had one of the Pirates’ three hits, took Perez deep for a solo home run, getting the Pirates on the board.

Bart’s 11th home run of the year, the Pirates’ only extra-base hit on the afternoon, made the score 8-1.

The Pirates loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth when Bryan De La Cruz and Yasmani Grandal singled, with Taylor walking against Adrian Morejon.

After Jared Triolo struck out, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit an RBI single to plate De La Cruz, making it 8-2.

But Morejon struck out Bryan Reynolds and Joe to put things away.

Ryder Ryan pitched a scoreless sixth for the Pirates, with Domingo German pitching the seventh and eighth.

Andrew McCutchen, who had been nursing a “cranky knee,” as Shelton put it, did not play Wednesday, with the Pirates off Thursday.

Oneil Cruz was also out of the lineup.