SportsDirect Inc. Ad
SportsDirect Inc. Ad
SportsDirect Inc. Ad
Major League Baseball
San Francisco 2, Pittsburgh 1
When: 4:05 PM ET, Saturday, July 1, 2017
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 82°
Umpires: Home - Dan Bellino, 1B - Nic Lentz, 2B - Dan Iassogna, 3B - Brian Gorman
Attendance: 27247

PITTSBURGH -- Considering the difficult time the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates had in scoring runs, perhaps it was fitting that the winning play wasn't a towering home run.

Or even hit. Or a walk.

It was a wild pitch.

Denard Span scored on a wild pitch in the 11th inning Saturday as the Giants won their fifth game in a row with a 2-1 victory over Pittsburgh at PNC Park.

"You take it," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "I mean, wild pitch, both teams are having a hard time."

Span walked with one out. He advanced to second on a passed ball and to third on Joe Panik's single to left. After Hunter Pence struck out, reliever Daniel Hudson (1-4) walked Buster Posey, but the fourth ball was wild and Span raced home.

"I did my best. I missed. It happens. It's the game," Pirates rookie catcher Elias Diaz said of the wild pitch.

When the ball flipped toward the backstop, Hudson crouched and held his head in his hands.

"If I was going to get beat there, I was going to get beat by the best pitch," said Hudson, Pittsburgh's fifth pitcher. "(Against) a right-hander this year, that's my slider. I was just trying to make a quality pitch. If I walk him, I walk him. I just got a little bit too much bite on it and got a bad kick."

The fifth straight win matches the season high for the Giants (32-51).

Pittsburgh (37-44) reached the halfway point of season with a two-game losing streak.

Josh Osich (2-1) picked up the win after pitching a scoreless 10th inning. Sam Dyson worked the 11th for his first save.

San Francisco starter Matt Moore has been inconsistent all season, but had one of his better outings, if a little on the short side. He allowed one run on four hits over 5 2/3 innings, with five strikeouts and six walks in the no-decision.

"Pitching with runners on base, a lot of runners on base all day," said Moore, who is 1-4 in his past eight starts. "I think I had one clean inning (the fifth) in there.

"But as the game went on, I think I settled in with just a little bit more of my mechanics."

Pittsburgh starter Chad Kuhl, facing San Francisco for the first time, no-hit the Giants through five innings. He gave up one run, a homer by Austin Slater, on two hits, with three strikeouts and one walk over six innings.

It was the first time since April 18 that Kuhl lasted more than five innings.

"He knows what the situation is," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Kuhl. "He wants to pitch deeper into games. He put himself in a situation to do that today."

Kuhl needed medical attention on the mound when the game's first batter, Span, hit a chopper that hit the right-hander in the left wrist area, above the glove. However, Kuhl was able to stay in the game.

With two outs in the bottom of the first, Moore walked the bases loaded and got a visit from pitching coach Dave Righetti before he got Diaz to ground back to the mound.

The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the third. With two outs, Andrew McCutchen slapped a double to the left-field corner. After David Freese walked, Josh Bell's single to right scored McCutchen.

San Francisco not only broke up Kuhl's no-hit bid in the sixth but also tied it. Slater led off with his third homer, a shot that just cleared the wall and McCutchen's glove in center to make it 1-1.

"He's pretty strong. He gets carry on the ball. I think (his bat) has paint on it from scraping the wall as it went over," Bochy said, even though that part of the wall is padded.

"That was huge."

Pittsburgh had a chance to win it in the ninth. With two outs, reliever Hunter Strickland walked the bases loaded before striking out Diaz.

"Things weren't really going my way for a little bit," Strickland said.

Those three runners were among the 15 Pittsburgh stranded as the Pirates had seven hits and 10 walks.

"That's one of those games," Bochy said. "We were fortunate. We know it. We were dodging bullets all game."

NOTES: San Francisco 3B Ryder Jones got hit by a pitch in the left wrist area in the 10th inning. Manager Bruce Bochy said X-rays showed no break but that Jones was sore and won't play Sunday. ... Pittsburgh CF/RF Starling Marte will begin a rehab assignment Sunday with the Single-A Bradenton Marauders. Marte, serving an 80-game suspension, is eligible for reinstatement July 18. ... Pirates C Francisco Cervelli (concussion) is eligible to come off the DL and appears close to returning but remained out of the lineup. ... San Francisco recalled RHP Chris Stratton from Triple-A Sacramento and optioned RHP Dan Slania to Sacramento. ... Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner (bruised ribs/left shoulder AC sprain) made his second rehab start, his first for Triple-A Sacramento on Friday. He allowed four runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings, with one walk and one strikeout. ... San Francisco IF Christian Arroyo (bruised hand) and OF Melvin Upton Jr. (broken wrist) have been added to Triple-A Sacramento's active roster.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
San Francisco   Pittsburgh
Matt Moore Player Chad Kuhl
No Decision W/L No Decision
5.2 IP 6.0
5 Strikeouts 3
4 Hits 2
1.59 ERA 1.50
Hitting
San Francisco   Pittsburgh
Jae-gyun Hwang Player Gregory Polanco
1 Hits 3
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
2 TB 4
1.000 Avg .750
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
San Francisco 5 1 10 .135 13 8 1 3 1 0
Pittsburgh 7 0 10 .179 24 11 1 10 0 0