PIRATES TOOK THEIR LUMPS AGAINST PADRES

The Pirates exit Pittsburgh after losing five out of six games on their homestand, hoping to find more success on the road tomorrow night in Detroit.

Joe Block has the story of another disappointing loss to the Padres.

The Pirates have today off and open a three-game series in Detroit tomorrow night.   General manager Ben Cherington said over the weekend that Oneil Cruz is doing “important work” at Triple-A Indianapolis and still has targets to meet before he is called up to Pittsburgh.  Cherington said the organization wants Cruz to refine his swing decisions and his defensive focus, especially with Cruz playing more in the outfield in addition to shortstop.  He acknowledged that the decision to leave Cruz in the minors is not popular.  Cruz is hitting .188 at Indianapolis.

ALTOONA

Altoona took the first two games of their series with Akron last week, but the Curve finished the series with four straight losses, falling 4-1 yesterday.  Liover Peguero was 2-for-3 for the Curve and Lolo Sanchez was 2-for-4.   The Curve are off today and start a six-game series in Erie tomorrow night.