PITTSBURGH -- The San Diego Padres hadn't seen Jameson Taillon before. After being dominated by him for eight innings, they're not real eager to face him again.

The Pittsburgh rookie limited San Diego to three singles to extend the strong start to his career and the David Freese-led Pirates beat the Padres 4-0 Thursday.

"I thought that was some of the better stuff we've seen all year," Padres manager Andy Green said. "I was kind of shocked how many changeups he threw; he threw a lot and threw them really well, which was against what he did the last time out."

Taillon (3-2) lowered his ERA to 2.85 in his first 10 major league appearances, striking out four and walking two - or one more than he had walked in his previous five starts. He threw 101 pitches, leaving to a standing ovation after retiring Travis Jankowski to end the eighth.

"One of the biggest things was he got us to swing at his pitches," Padres first baseman Wil Myers said. "The first two at-bats I swung at two of his pitches off the plate. He didn't strike out that many, but got a lot of quick outs - and that's what you want from a starting pitcher."

Freese drove in two runs against Padres starter Christian Friedrich (4-8) with a single and a double -- he had five hits in the three-game series -- as the Pirates won their fourth in six games after dropping five of six.

Gregory Polanco and Josh Harrison also had run-scoring singles for the Pirates, who roughed up Friedrich for four runs and nine hits in five innings. The left-handed Friedrich is 0-6 with two no-decisions in his last eight starts and hasn't won since June 23.

The Pirates were held to two hits in losing 4-0 Wednesday night to Edwin Jackson and two relievers, but they had that many in the first as Harrison led off with a double and scored on Freese's one-out single.

"We made a point (when) we talked this morning to come out with some energy and get going ... we knew they'd be ready to roll, so we wanted to step up and get it done," Freese said of the quick start by the Pirates offense.

Freese added his second RBI on a two-out double in the third following Starling Marte's single. Polanco then singled in Freese.

The Pirates managed only one run on four singles in the fourth as they had a pair of runners thrown out at the plate, one on an unsuccessful double steal attempt, but Harrison did drive in a run with a single.

The Padres threatened against Taillon only in the third, when Nick Noonan singled in his first start with San Diego, moved up on a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch and Travis Jankowski walked, but Myers grounded out. Jankowski went 0-for-3 to end his nine-game hitting streak.

Taillon, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft, made his 10th start for Pittsburgh in a rookie season that's beginning with considerable success. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his last six starts, and the Pirates have won six of his last seven starts.

As Green suggested, it's all about adjusting, Taillon said.

"I felt my first couple (of starts) were good, (then) I had a couple of rough ones in there, hitters were adjusting and scouting reports were being formed," Taillon said. "So the biggest thing was adjusting from start to start and trying to figure out what hitters are doing with me."

In this game, not much.

"I had my curveball early," Taillon said. "(And) the more I use the two-seam (fastball), I learn how to effectively use that. I've been pitching more in early; guys were starting to look out over the plate, use the opposite field well on me."

The right-handed Taillon, winning for the first time in six starts in PNC Park even though the Pirates are 5-1 in those games, also isn't giving away base runners -- he has walked only seven in 60 innings and three in his last six starts.

Taillon's eight-inning outing matched the longest of his still-short career; he gave up only two hits over eight innings in beating the New York Mets 4-0 on June 14, in his second career start.

In two starts during the Pirates' just-ended six-game home stand, he was 2-0 and gave up only one run in 14 innings.

Tony Watson struck out Jabari Blash for his fourth save in five chances after Neftali Feliz put two runners on in the ninth with a Myers single and a walk.

NOTES: The Padres signed Cuban RHP Ronald Bolanos to a contract worth about $2 million. Bolanos is rated as the 20th best international prospect by MLB.com. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Bolanos turns 20 this month. ... The Pirates held out C Francisco Cervelli, who may have reinjured his left wrist on a swing Wednesday night. Cervelli, who was checked by a doctor Thursday morning, recently missed more than a month of the season with a broken bone in the wrist. ... The Pirates held a Jung Ho Kang bobblehead doll giveaway Thursday, even though Kang is being investigated in Chicago on a sexual assault claim. Any fan not wanting the bobblehead could request a different giveaway item. ... The Padres will start LHP Clayton Richard on Sunday against the Mets as they go to a six-man rotation for the next two weeks.