Juan Soto stepped in during a tight moment in the seventh, with the Padres trailing by one. Pirates reliever Perdomo opened with a couple of sliders and fastballs, trying to fool Soto with location changes. Soto tracked the pitches calmly, showing little emotion. When a runner tried to steal during the at-bat, he got thrown out. That cleared the bases, and on a 3-1 fastball, Soto turned on one he’d clearly been waiting for. He crushed it out to right for a solo homer that tied the game, then trotted around with a calm demeanor, barely celebrating.
Next up was Manny Machado, and Perdomo immediately threw a fastball behind his back. It clearly looked intentional. Umpires met quickly and ejected him without a warning. Carlos Santana from the Pirates even came over to Machado to apologize, clearly understanding that it wasn’t a good look. Pirates manager Derek Shelton came out fired up, demanding to know why there was no warning. He got even more frustrated after being told it was a direct ejection. With Perdomo tossed, they had to bring in another arm, who got the next batter to pop out and end the inning, but not before the damage was done. Padres seized the momentum on Soto’s homer, and the Pirates added a bullpen problem to their list of issues.