Nick Gonzales delivers in 12th, Pirates top Padres

Gonzales is in the cleanup spot today. He’s playing second because Brandon Lowe is getting a partial day off as a designated hitter. Nick Yorke is starting at third in Gonzales’s usual spot.

Gonzales was removed from Friday’s game after being hit on the helmet by a pitch. He passed through the concussion protocol but was held out of action on Saturday as a precautionary measure and will get an extra day on Sunday as well. He’s expected to be available off the bench if needed.

Gonzales cleared concussion protocol. He left Friday’s game after being hit on the helmet by a pitch.

Gonzales was hit on the left ear flap of his helmet by Jake Bennett in the fifth inning. He was able to walk off the field under his own power, but is being treated for a facial contusion. He’s considered day-to-day.

Gonzales has just not stopped hitting. Two more knocks here raised his batting average to .307 which is the fifth-highest mark in the entire league. That hasn’t come with much power – Gonzales only has six home runs and his .093 ISO is fifth-lowest in the league – but that high average makes him an asset in many leagues.

Gonzales is 6-for-38 with no walks this month. He’s still hitting .304, but it’s a rather empty .304, what with his six homers and 28 walks in 474 plate appearances, and it’s come with poor defense at third. He’s not coming out of the Pirates lineup, but he’s just not helping right now.

Lowe takes a seat with lefty Shota Imanaga taking the ball for Chicago in this one. It’ll be Nick Gonzales taking over at the keystone and hitting second in this one. The 32-year-old veteran has managed to stay mostly healthy and has put together an outstanding Pirates debut with 21 homers and 65 RBI across 427 plate appearances.

Mangum went 2-for-5 with an RBI and his 19th stolen base of the season during the front-end of the twin bill. He’ll undergo further evaluation and there should be an update on his status prior to Friday’s series opener against the Cubs. The 30-year-old has emerged as Pittsburgh’s primary leadoff hitter since rookie Konnor Griffin hit the injured list earlier this month. It’ll be Billy Cook taking over in center field with Nick Gonzales moving up to the leadoff spot.

The third run came in the 10th, as Gonzales was the automatic runner after grounding out to end the ninth. He came around to score on a Jared Triolo single, and the Pirates added on with another RBI single from Jake Mangum. Prior to that, Gonzales singled and scored on Jacob Gonzalez’s homer in the fifth and then delivered a solo shot off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning. It’s the second time in his career that he’s scored three runs in a game. He’s hitting .311/.370/.414 with six homers over 395 plate appearances. That average is 54 points better than his career mark of .257 in 923 plate appearances coming into the season.

He took Kyle Backhus deep in the ninth inning to extend a 5-1 lead, on a breaking ball that he just nudged over the left-field fence in Citizen’s Bank Park. Gonzales just keeps hitting -- he’s batting .322 in his last 30 games -- and while he isn’t generating a ton of speed, he’s got four homers over that span to go along with 22 runs scored and 16 RBI. Gonzales remains a fringe starter in most leagues, but if he’s going to hit this well going forward there are going to be fantasy teams he can help.