PITTSBURGH _ Clayton Richard has reinvented himself again.
This time, for three starts at least, he's better than ever.
The Padres staked Richard a three-run lead on three consecutive doubles in the first inning, Richard again pitched effectively into the eighth inning, and the Padres held on for a 6-2 victory Saturday night at PNC Park.
It was their second straight win and ninth in 17 games in May, constituting a hot streak for a team that entered the month 10 games below .500.
After going just four innings in his start on May 2, Richard was 1-4 with a 6.21 ERA. He was averaging just more than 51/3 innings in his seven starts.
In three starts since then, having adjusted to weeks-long transition to a raised arm slot, resulting in more movement on his pitches, Richard is 2-1 with a 2.24 ERA.
After successive starts that lasted eight innings, he went 71/3 on Saturday. He left with runners on first and second and one out in the eighth inning. He'd just surrendered his first run and was charged with another run when reliever Craig Stammen gave up an RBI double.
All that action late came after some excellent pitching between the top of the first and the bottom of the eighth.
After being touched for the three runs in the first, Pirates rookie Nick Kingham retired 17 of the next (and final) 19 batters he faced before leaving after six innings.
That was after the Padres turned on three of his 92-mph fastballs in the first.
Eric Hosmer walked and went to third on Franchy Cordero's double. Both scored on Jose Pirela's double, and Pirela scored on Christian Villanueva's double. All three hits were laced down the line _ the left-handed Cordero to right field and the two righties to left field.
Villanueva, who went 42 at-bats without a hit earlier this month and entered the game with a .160/.261/.247 hitting line against right-handers, blasted a solo home run 418 feet in the seventh off righty Tyler Glasnow to make it 4-0. Of Villanueva's 11 total homers, just two are against righties.
After the Pirates made it close, prompting closer Brad Hand to get up in the bullpen in the eighth, the Padres scored twice in the ninth. Manuel Margot singled, stole second, went to third on a throwing error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Raffy Lopez. Cory Spangenberg followed with a pinch-hit home run.
Robbie Erlin pitched a perfect ninth, retiring three Pirates on just five pitches.
