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SF Giants sweep Pirates with five-run 10th inning in 8-4 victory

The SF Giants thwarted a Pittsburgh Pirates comeback with a big extra-inning victory.
Sean Keane|
SF Giants sweep Pirates with five-run 10th inning in 8-4 victory
SF Giants sweep Pirates with five-run 10th inning in 8-4 victory

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For eight of the ten innings Sunday, the SF Giants offense was very quiet. But the third and tenth innings were explosive enough for the orange and black to escape PNC Park with a sweep.

After a three-run third inning, the Giants went six innings without getting a runner past first base. The solution? Get to extra innings tied, and a runner will be placed there.

In the tenth, Wilmer Flores advanced automatic baserunner Casey Schmitt to third with a single off losing pitcher Yerry De Los Santos. Joc Pederson followed with a deep fly ball to center to knock in the go-ahead run. Michael Conforto double off the wall to knock in Flores and J.D. Davis, who scored with an acrobatic slide. Then Patrick Bailey knocked in two more runs with his own double.

Scott Alexander got the save after an eventful bottom of the tenth featuring an infield hit, a walk, and a wild pitch. Ryan Walker's shutout ninth inning earned him his third win of the season.

The Giants led 3-2 before a nightmare relief outing for Tyler Rogers, who replaced the stellar Tristan Beck in the eighth inning. After a single by Forever Giants Andrew McCutchen, Rogers walked Carlos Santana (on a clear 3-2 strike) and Henry Davis. Jared Triolo followed with a game-tying sacrifice fly.

Gabe Kapler replaced him with his twin brother, Taylor, who got a big strikeout on Tupucita Marcano, after he failed to get a bunt down with runners at the corners. After loading the bases with a bouncing pitch that grazed Nick Gonzales' pant leg, Rogers struck out catcher Jason Delay to end the threat.

Rookie Beck was rock-solid in relief, yielding only one hit while striking out three in his 3 1/3 innings. 67% of his pitches were strikes and aside from a double from Davis, he was untouchable.

The Pirates got the scoring started in the second inning when they loaded the bases. Wood induced a bouncer up the middle from Bryan Reynolds, but Joe hustled and beat Brandon Crawford's toss to second.

San Francisco answered in the third inning with three runs, and chased rookie starter Osvaldo Bido. One run came thanks to yet another defensive misadventure from Pirates right fielder Henry Davis. With the bases loaded, J.D. Davis singled to right. Wade initially held at third base, but Davis mishandled the ball, which let a second run score.  

It's the second game of the series where a Davis error has handed the Giants a run. Friday, he let Patrick Bailey's RBI single get under his glove, which let the go-ahead run score.

He also looked confounded by Conforto's double off the wall in the tenth, which allowed the non-speedy Davis to score from first. That run didn't ultimately matter, but for the series, the Giants got four extra runs on hits to right field - in a series where the Giants only outscored the Pirates by four runs in regulation.

Davis was the top overall pick in the 2021 draft, but he's been a catcher for the majority of his college and pro careers. Meanwhile, starting catcher Austin Hedges is hitting .175, with an OPs+ of 25. Hedges also committed a passed ball Friday which put runners in scoring position for Bailey's hit.

The Pirates right fielder atoned for his miscue by manufacturing a run all by himself in the sixth inning. Davis doubled, stole third, and scored on a groundout to shortstop to cut the Giants' lead to 3-2. 

Alex Wood got another quick hook from Gabe Kapler, yielding to Tristan Beck after 3 2/3 innings. Wood only gave up one run, but allowed seven baserunners in his first two innings. Though he'd retired six hitters in a row, Kapler pulled Wood after a two-out walk, to avoid him facing lefty-killer Connor Joe.

Wood escaped in the first inning thanks to a nifty grab by LaMonte Wade Jr., who tumbled into the netting to grab a pop-up with two on and two out.

The Giants improved to 52-41 with their fifth straight win. They head down the Ohio River to face the surprising Cincinnati Reds Monday night.

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Sean Keane
SEAN KEANE

Sean Keane (he/him) is a writer, stand-up, and co-host of the Roundball Rock NBA podcast. He wrote for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” his work has appeared in McSweeney's, Audible.com, and Yardbarker, and he's performed at countless festivals, including SF Sketchfest, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, RIOT LA, and NoisePop. In 2014, the San Francisco Bay Guardian named Sean an “Outstanding Local Discovery,” and promptly went out of business.

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