There weren’t a lot of bright spots in the Pirates 3-1 loss to the San Diego Padres on Monday night but rookie Kyle McPherson had an impressive debut, allowing one hit and pitching two scoreless innings in relief (6th, 7th innings). McPherson was hitting 96 on the gun and his ability to throw strikes stood out as he threw 19 strikes on 26 pitches. McPherson faced seven batters overall and among the first six batters he faced, McPherson got into pitcher counts of 0-2 to five of those batters. Lefty Justin Wilson also flashed his strikeout ability, pitching a scoreless eighth inning, allowing 2 hits and striking out three batters.</div>