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Michael Conforto's late single lifts SF Giants to 3-1 victory over Pirates

In a pitcher's duel between Alex Cobb and Johan Oviedo, the SF Giants finally pulled ahead against the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen.
Marc Delucchi|
Michael Conforto's late single lifts SF Giants to 3-1 victory over Pirates
Michael Conforto's late single lifts SF Giants to 3-1 victory over Pirates

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After a short rain delay, the SF Giants defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Saturday night. All-Star right-handed pitcher Alex Cobb delivered his second consecutive quality start and kept things close while the Giants lineup struggled against young starting pitcher Johan Oviedo. With the victory, San Francisco improved to 51-41 on the season and is now just half a game behind the Diamondbacks and two games back of the Dodgers in the National League West.

Oviedo allowed just one hit across his first six innings of work. A 25-year-old righty from Cuba, Oviedo entered the day with a 4.75 ERA on the season. However, acquired at last year's trade deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals in the Jose Quintana trade, Oviedo had his high-octane arsenal working to near perfection.

A wide strike zone early from home plate umpire Brennan Miller and some aggressive called check swings from third base umpire Jordan Baker gave pitchers plenty of added wiggle room. With command tending to be Oviedo's biggest source of struggles, it was a favorable environment for the young starter.

Oviedo works with a four-pitch mix but primarily leaned on his upper 90s fastball and high 80s slider. He struck out 10 across seven innings of work, surrendering just one hit and three walks. That lone hit, though, came on an 0-2 fastball down the middle to Mike Yastrzemski. Yaz blasted a solo home run on the pitch, his 11th homer of the season.

Cobb was not as dominant as Oviedo but did a comparable job keeping his opponent from scoring. Cobb allowed just one run in six innings pitched, surrendering four hits and a pair of walks. Like Oviedo, the only run he allowed came on a solo home run. In the bottom half of the second, 2021 first-overall pick Henry Davis jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Cobb for a game-tying big fly.

Oviedo walked a pair of Giants in the top of the sixth inning, which gave Yastrzemski a two-out opportunity. However, the Giants center fielder was unable to replicate his earlier smash, instead grounding out to end the inning. 

The Pirates had an even better opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh against left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers. Rogers allowed two of the first three hitters of the inning to reach base before retiring Jack Suwinski and Bryan Reynolds to end the rally.

Oviedo had thrown more than 100 pitches through seven innings, so Pirates manager Derek Shelton went to his bullpen in the eighth. Pirates rookie setup reliever Carmen Mlodzinski retired Wilmer Flores on one pitch but walked LaMonte Wade Jr. and surrendered a single to Joc Pederson. Concerned about falling behind, Shelton called upon his closer David Bednar.

Bednar, the brother of Giants 2021 first-round pick Will Bednar, struck out J.D. Davis and quickly put Michael Conforto into an 0-2 hole. However, a curveball floated a bit too high, and Conforto lined a go-ahead single to right field. 

Conforto was nearly caught in a rundown between first and second base, but a bobble by Nick Gonzales opened the door for Pederson to sprint home as well, giving the Giants a 3-1 lead.

Hoping to give his top setup arm Tyler Rogers a night off, Giants manager Gabe Kapler turned to Scott Alexander in the eighth inning. Alexander worked around a two-out single to retire the side and passed the baton to closer Camilo Doval. Pitching for the second-consecutive day, Doval allowed a lead-off single to Tucupita Marcano but retired the next three hitters to record his league-leading 28th save of the season.

The SF Giants and Pirates will finish up their first series of the second half on Sunday. San Francisco has not yet announced their starting pitcher, suggesting it will be a bullpen game. Rookie right-handed Osvaldo Brito is scheduled to start for the Pirates. First pitch is set for 9:05 AM Pacific.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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