New month, new script.
For a San Francisco Giants team that needed less than three months to race to the bottom of the National League West, a late June revival inspired confidence in the group heading into July.
And while it took the team’s second extra-inning game in four days, San Francisco wasted no time capturing its first win of the month as Denard Span scored on a wild pitch in the top of the 11th inning to give the Giants a 2-1 win that reliever Sam Dyson would hold in the bottom half of the frame.
After pounding out a season-high 18 hits in their 13-5 win over the Pirates on Friday night, the San Francisco Giants were held without a hit through the first five frames on Saturday afternoon at PNC Park.
Pirates right-hander Chad Kuhl, 24, entered the contest with a 5.58 earned run average over 15 starts this season, and had not thrown more than 5.0 innings in a single start since April 18.
Nevertheless, the Giants’ lineup reverted back to the lifeless form it took through the first half of June, as San Francisco didn’t record a hit until Austin Slater stepped to the plate in the sixth inning.
The Giants’ rookie left fielder has thrived in the eighth slot in the order since his Major League debut, and Slater continued his tear by launching a first-pitch slider to deep center field.
Pirates’ center fielder Andrew McCutchen had Pittsburgh fans convinced he made a leaping grab at the wall to rob Slater, but the ball just snuck over the tip of McCutchen’s glove and cleared the bright green fence at PNC Park to tie the game 1-1.
Pittsburgh took an early lead against Giants’ starter Matt Moore, who entered Saturday’s outing with a National League worst 6.04 earned run average. Though Moore struggled mightily in the month of June, he’s been at his worst on the road this season, coming into Saturday’s game with an 8.39 ERA in nine road starts.
Despite walking the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, on the 28th pitch of the frame, Moore induced an Elias Diaz groundout to end Pittsburgh’s first threat.
After recording two quick outs in the third inning, though, Moore surrendered a double to McCutchen, a walk to David Freese, and an RBI single to Josh Bell who gave the Pirates a 1-0 advantage.
Pittsburgh was unable to add on insurance against Moore, who encountered more trouble in the bottom of the sixth after Slater’s home run tied the game.
With two outs and runners on first and third, Moore set his new career high by issuing his sixth free pass of the contest, a walk to John Jaso, that loaded the bases and forced manager Bruce Bochy from the Giants dugout.
Bochy called on right-hander George Kontos, who entered a high-leverage situation and recorded a four-pitch strikeout of Josh Harrison to preserve the tie.
In the bottom of the seventh, Kontos again worked his way out of a jam by inducing a Bell groundout after Freese doubled to put the go-ahead run in scoring position with two outs.
The Giants had an opportunity to take the lead in the eighth, after pinch hitter Jae-gyun Hwang worked an 0-2 count full and roped a two-out double to set the table for Span, but the Giants’ hottest hitter of late bounced out to first base.