The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Giants in a 13-3 blowout, recording a season-high 20 hits.
Clutch Hitting Key to Pirates’ Victory
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly had previously lamented his club’s poor situational hitting. However, the Pirates combined for a season-high 20 hits in Saturday’s game. They also went 10 for 22 with runners in scoring position.
Kelly said they had really good at-bats early on and continued throughout the whole game, going the other way, doing the things that they need to do to score runs.
Braxton Ashcraft allowed one run on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts over seven innings.
Individual Performances Shine
Every Pirates batter collected at least one hit. Nick Gonzales and Joey Bart each had four hits. Oneil Cruz went 3 for 6 with three runs, Brandon Lowe was 2 for 4 with four RBIs and Konnor Griffin had a pair of RBIs.
Breaking Down the Scoring
The Pirates were held scoreless through four frames against Giants starter Landen Roupp, but they did manage to jack up his pitch count to 94. This led to his departure in favour of Ryan Borucki with no outs in the fifth.
Kelly noted the approach was awesome, driving up the pitch count of the starter and the bullpen.
Borucki’s outing immediately got shaky after Bart got aboard via an infield hit that was originally called an out before a successful challenge. Cruz followed with a single, and after he stole second, Lowe made it 1-0 with a sacrifice fly. A Bryan Reynolds single into left field then plated Cruz, making it 2-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, San Francisco got one back, trimming the deficit to 2-1 when rookie Bryce Eldridge led off with his first MLB home run, a solo shot into McCovey Cove.
With one out in the sixth, Spencer Horwitz walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Ryan Walker. Griffin then scored him with a soft single into center field, putting the Pirates back up 3-1. Bart scored Griffin from second with an RBI single, making it 4-1.
A six-run seventh busted the game open.
Following back-to-back singles by Ryan O’Hearn and Gonzales, Horwitz made it 5-1 on what was ruled an RBI double as left fielder Heliot Ramos lost the ball in the stadium lights. Gonzales, having taken third base on the play, was soon scored by a Griffin sacrifice fly, as the Pirates took a 6-1 advantage.
Bart’s third hit of the night scored Horwitz to make it 7-1.
The first three runs in the seventh were scored against JT Brubaker, who was removed with two outs.
Bart said that everyone battled with two strikes and they kept it going.
Match Facts
- The Pirates had a season-high 20 hits.
- The Pirates went 10 for 22 with runners in scoring position.
- Nick Gonzales and Joey Bart had four hits apiece.
The Pirates are now 22-18, while San Francisco are 15-24.