Pirates top Giants 6-5 for 5th straight win
By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Gregory Polanco and Francisco Cervelli homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates took advantage of a sloppy inning by former closer Tony Watson to slip by the San Francisco Giants 6-5 on Saturday for their fifth straight victory.
Watson (1-2), an All-Star for Pittsburgh during his six-plus seasons with the club, loaded the bases in the eighth, and then gave the Pirates the lead when he hit former teammate Jordy Mercer to force in Josh Bell. Felipe Vazquez (2-0), who took over as Pirates closer when Watson faltered last season, got the final five outs after Pittsburgh blew a two-run lead earlier in the night.
Bell finished with two hits and his adept baserunning kept Pittsburgh’s eighth-inning rally alive. Bell was at third when pinch-hitter David Freese hit a chopper up the third-base line. Bell avoided Evan Longoria’s tag to make it back to third safely and Freese reached first without a throw. Watson then plunked Mercer to put the Pirates in front.
Former Pirates star Andrew McCutchen went 2 for 5 to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Longoria and Alen Hanson homered in San Francisco’s sixth straight loss.
McCutchen received multiple standing ovations and two video tributes in his initial return to PNC Park on Friday night, with chants of “MVP” raining down from the upper deck before his first at-bat. The moment proved cathartic for both McCutchen and his former team, which blasted four home runs on its way to an 11-2 victory.
Things were a bit more muted 24 hours later, thanks in part to a 93-minute rain delay that left most of the crowd hiding under ponchos for protection from an intermittent downpour. Just like Friday, however, the crowd rose to its feet when McCutchen walked toward the batter’s box in the first. McCutchen took off his helmet as the applause washed over him. He tried to cut it a bit shorter than the one on Friday, but Cervelli wouldn’t let him. The catcher stood on the infield grass and refused to move toward his usual spot behind the plate to make sure his former teammate drank it all in.
Then the baseball began and the Pirates kept right on rolling even without the player most responsible for the franchise’s turnaround.
The team that finished 29th in the majors in home runs and 28th in runs last season is currently in the top 10 in both categories a quarter of the way into 2018. Polanco and Cervelli — who combined for just 16 homers in 2017 — now have 14 between the two of them. Polanco sent a shot to the seats in right-center just out of McCutchen’s reach in the third and Cervelli took advantage of Jeff Samardzija late.
Samardzija has struggled to find anything resembling rhythm this season and failed to go longer than five innings in each of his first four starters this season. He worked into the sixth this time around and stuck around at least one batter too many. Cervelli drove Samardzija’s 98th pitch over the fence in center to put Pittsburgh in front.
Samardzija allowed five runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings as his ERA rose to 6.94.
Pittsburgh starter Chad Kuhl recovered from a shaky start to pitch six innings, giving up three runs and six hits with four walks and six strikeouts.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: OF Hunter Pence (sprained right thumb) began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento. Manager Bruce Bochy said there’s a chance Pence, who has not played since April 18, could return at some point during a seven-game homestand that starts Monday against Cincinnati.
Pirates: RHP Joe Musgrove (strained right shoulder) pitched 5 2/3 no-hit innings in a rehab start at Triple-A Indianapolis. Musgrove threw 60 of his 79 pitches for strikes. … Pittsburgh is hopeful Jameson Taillon can make his next scheduled start. He exited after three innings on Friday due to a laceration on his right ring finger.
UP NEXT
Giants: Derek Holland (1-4, 5.66 ERA) will look for his first road win in nearly a year on Sunday. Holland’s last road victory came on May 21, 2017, while pitching for the Chicago White Sox.
Pirates: Ivan Nova (2-2, 4.84 ERA) lasted just two innings in his previous start on Tuesday in Chicago. Nova has given up 10 runs in his last 5 2/3 innings.
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Pirates rip Giants 11-2 in McCutchen’s return to Pittsburgh
By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The men Andrew McCutchen used to call his teammates wanted to make sure McCutchen would have his moment. So when the San Francisco Giants outfielder stepped out of the batter’s box on Friday night to acknowledge the standing ovation at PNC Park in the five-time All-Star’s first game back since being traded in January, the Pittsburgh Pirates clapped right along.
Then McCutchen put his helmet on, dug in and went back to work. The Pirates did, too. Six pitches later McCutchen was headed back to the dugout after striking out looking, and Pittsburgh set about showcasing that the franchise remains very much alive even without the player most vital to its turnaround.
“We can’t just dwell on the past and wish he was here the whole time,” Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer said. “It’s time to move on.”
That’s easier to do when you’re hitting the ball all over the yard.
Starling Marte, Josh Bell and Jose Osuna all hit two-run homers, Max Moroff added a three-run blast and the Pirates beat the Giants 11-2 on Friday night.
McCutchen, who played his first nine seasons in Pittsburgh before being shipped to the Giants four months ago, let the outpouring from the largest crowd to watch a Pirates home game this season pour over him when he came to bat in the first inning. He finished 1 for 5 with a double and threw out Pittsburgh’s Colin Moran at home to end the sixth while being cheered whenever he came to bat or made a play in the field.
“I don’t think there was anything normal about it,” McCutchen said about the response. “You try to make it as normal as possible, but you’re playing against guys you played with for a long time and that’s not normal. I tried my best not to think about it, but I think they had the advantage over me. I was trying to ride through it. I did my best.”
Steven Brault (3-1) picked up the win in relief after Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon left after three innings with a laceration on his right hand. Mercer went 3 for 4 and scored twice for the Pirates, who have won five of six.
San Francisco rookie Andrew Suarez (1-2) lasted just four innings in his fourth career start, giving up five runs on seven hits, including home runs to Marte in the first and Osuna in the fourth. Austin Jackson’s two-run double off Brault in the fourth briefly tied the game at 2, but Suarez struggled in the bottom of the inning as the Giants dropped their fifth straight.
“(The key) is starting pitching,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s how you get on a roll, good starting pitching. If you’re struggling, it’s usually because your starters are in a little rut and that’s what’s happening with us right now.”
The Giants went 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position and struck out 14 times. San Francisco has fanned 68 times during its five-game slide.
“We’re having a hard time making contact or even getting a productive out,” Bochy said. “That’s why we have had five ugly losses. We’re not doing anything offensively, the (opposing) pitchers are on top of their games and that’s why we’re in the little streak that we’re on right now.”
Pittsburgh is off to a solid start in the competitive NL Central despite a roster makeover that included sending McCutchen — the 2013 NL MVP — west in exchange for reliever Kyle Crick, outfield prospect Bryan Reynolds and international bonus slot money.
General manager Neal Huntington described the decision to trade McCutchen as tough but necessary. So far, it looks prescient.
Marte, McCutchen’s replacement in center, drilled a two-run shot off Suarez in the first. Osuna added a pinch-hit homer to the bleachers in left field in the fifth to put the Pirates up 5-2, and Pittsburgh poured it on from there.
“I answered a lot of questions over the winter about where the power is going to come from,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “The power is coming from a lot of different places.”
APPRECIATIVE CROWD
Attendance was announced at 34,720, and many fans showed their appreciation for McCutchen by wearing versions of his No. 22 jersey.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: OF Mac Williamson (concussion) remains out indefinitely. Bochy said it will be at least another week before Williamson is cleared to exit the concussion protocol program. Williamson hasn’t played since he was injured on April 24. … Bochy said OF Hunter Pence’s strained right thumb is “doing better.”
UP NEXT
Giants: Jeff Samardzija (1-2, 6.62 ERA) will try to bounce back Saturday after getting drilled in an 11-0 loss to Philadelphia last Monday. Samardzija is 6-4 with a 2.80 ERA in his career against Pittsburgh.
Pirates: Chad Kuhl (4-2, 4.12) is 3-1 in his last four starts and tied a career high with eight strikeouts in a victory over Milwaukee last Sunday.
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