Nick Pivetta allowed just one hit over seven shutout innings Sunday as the San Diego Padres completed a four-game sweep of the visiting Atlanta Braves with a 5-0 win.
Pivetta (1-0) walked none and fanned four in an 82-pitch masterpiece that saw him face the minimum 21 hitters. Orlando Arcia lined a single to right to lead off the third, but a double play ball off Chadwick Tromp’s bat ended the inning.
Jason Adam and Jeremiah Estrada finished the shutout as San Diego blanked Atlanta over the final 22 innings of the series. The Braves got just one runner into scoring position and that didn’t last long. Marcell Ozuna was doubled off second to end the eighth on Michael Harris’ grounder when he circled the bag too far and first baseman Luis Arraez threw behind him for the third out.
Offensively, Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-for-3 and reached base four times, knocking in a run, scoring twice and while stealing his third base of the season. The Padres collected five doubles and swiped four bases.
A.J. Smith-Shawver (0-1) lasted four innings for Atlanta, giving up six hits and two runs with three walks and four strikeouts. The right-hander found trouble right away when Tatis led off the bottom of the first with a checked-swing double down the right field line. He scored one out later on Manny Machado’s double to the right-center field wall.
Xander Bogaerts upped the lead to 2-0 in the third when he drilled a hanging curve into the left field corner, scoring Jake Cronenworth, who had coaxed a two-out walk.
San Diego put the game away late against the Braves’ bullpen. Jackson Merrill increased the lead to 3-0 in the seventh when he lined a two-out double to the wall in left-center off Jose Suarez, scoring Tatis from first.
The Padres tacked on two more in the eighth against Hector Neris. Brandon Lockridge slashed an RBI double into the right field corner to plate Bogaerts, and Tatis ripped a two-out single off the glove of third baseman Austin Riley to score Lockridge.
–Field Level Media
