Pirates 6 – Padres 4
Gregory Polanco (.281-16HR-59RBI) batting cleanup for the first time in his career Tuesday night, delivered for manager Clint Hurdle and the Pirates.
Polanco hit a tiebreaking 3-run homer deep into the right center seats off Luis Perdomo that put the Pirates ahead 5-2 in the fifth inning. It was Polanco’s 16th home run of the season. The Pirates (56-54) would go on to secure a 6-4 win over the Padres (48-64) to open the season.
Expect to see the experiment with Polanco batting cleanup continue.
“He’s been our most efficient guy with RBI percentage,” manager Clint Hurdle said of Polanco. “I like Polanco in the four to try something different.”
