San Francisco Giants Patrick Bailey celebrates with first base coach Mark Hallberg after a go ahead single in the top of the tenth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Wed May 22, 2024 (AP News photo)
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
PNC Park
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
San Francisco Giants 9 (24-26)
Pittsburgh Pirates 5 (23-27)
Win: Ryan Walker (4-2)
Loss: Carmen Mlodzinski (0-1)
Time: 3:23
Attendance: 13,830
By Stephen Ruderman
After suffering their worst loss of the season Tuesday night in which they blew a 6-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning and lost the game in 10 innings, the Giants, led by three-hit games by LaMonte Wade and Matt Chapman, flipped the script Wednesday night, and came back from down 5-0 to beat the Pirates 9-5 in another 10-inning thriller at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
Baseball is an everyday game, and the Giants were back at it after their brutal loss last night. Blake Snell was activated off of the 15-Day Injured List to make his fourth start of the season, and he was the man the Giants turned to to bounce back.
Jared Jones took the mound for the Pirates, and the Giants were unable to muster anything against him in the early going. Snell, meanwhile, pitched through a one-out base-hit by Bryan Reynolds in the bottom of the first inning. Snell also pitched through trouble in the second and third, as the Pirates had two runners on in both innings, but Snell was able to wiggle out of it unscathed both innings.
The game stayed scoreless, as Jones pitched a scoreless top of the fourth, and Snell was right back in trouble in the bottom of the fourth. Snell walked O’Neil Cruz to start the inning and then gave up a base-hit to former Giant Joey Bart. Jared Triolo flew out to center to move Cruz to third, and Michael A. Taylor walked to load the bases.
After a lengthy and weird seven-pitch at-bat, Andrew McCutchen was hit in the back foot by a pitch—I know technically not an at-bat—after Home Plate Umpire Tony Randazzo nonchalantly called it. Bob Melvin opted not to have the play reviewed, as Randazzo got the call right, and the Pirates were on the board first up 1-0.
Melvin then pulled Snell for Sean Hjelle to face former Giants top prospect Bryan Reynolds. Reynolds hit a grand slam to right field to give the Pirates a 5-0 lead, as things just kept getting worse for the Giants. The Pirates threatened even further, but Hjelle was able to get out of it with the deficit still at five.
The Giants did have a response against Jones in the top of the fifth. Catcher Patrick Bailey, who was back in the starting lineup, lined a double the other way to right to lead things off. Jorge Soler, who has struggled with men on face, lined a base-hit to left to knock in Bailey and put the Giants on the board.
Hjelle pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fifth, LaMonte Wade lined a base-hit to center to start the sixth. Thairo Estrada popped out to short, but Matt Chapman stayed hot with a two-run home run to left-center, his seventh of the season, and it was suddenly 5-3.
Patrick Bailey lined a base-hit up the middle to center to bring up the tying run in Soler, and Soler came within 10-to-15 feet of tying it, but ultimately flew out to deep left field. Heliot Ramos then struck out swinging to end the inning.
It stayed 5-3 going to the bottom of the sixth, and Randy Rodriguez came in for the Giants to throw a 1-2-3 inning. Hunter Stratton came in for Pittsburgh and followed suit with a 1-2-3 inning of his own in the top of the seventh. Rodriguez threw another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh, as he set down all six men he faced Wednesday night.
“Randy Rodriguez is not just a long guy for us,” said Melvin. “On the pitching end, [those were] two really key innings. To be able to hold it down, not [just] hold it down, but carve through [them pretty easily, get us back in the dugout quickly and give us a chance to score, he’s really done a nice job for us.”
Veteran flamethrower Aroldis Chapman came in for the Pirates in the top of the eighth, and as the Giants are accustomed to seeing from Chapman in recent years, he walked Wade, Estrada and Chapman to load the bases with nobody out.
Pirates Manager Derek Shelton pulled Chapman for Colin Holderman, who struck Bailey out swinging for the first out. Soler then came up and was able to get Wade in after being thrown out at first on a swinging bunt. It was now 5-4, but Ramos struck out swinging to end the inning, and the Giants wasted another golden opportunity.
Tyler Rogers threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth, and since Pirates’ closer David Bednar pitched Tuesday night, Shelton left Holderman out for the top of the ninth. The move appeared to pay off, as Mike Yastrzemski struck out swinging, and Wilmer Flores pinch-hit for Luciano and lined out to center.
The final hope for the Giants Wednesday night was Luis Matos. Matos was down to his last strike with the count at 2-2, and he lined a base-hit out to left-center. The ball was overrun by Pirates’ left-fielder Bryan Reynolds, and Matos saw it and took the extra base. It was now up to Wade, who lined a base-hit to right to knock in Matos and tie the game.
“When his at-bat comes up there, and we got a chance to tie the game, you feel pretty good about it,” said Melvin. “He’s very calm in those at-bats; he knows what he wants to do; he knows what he’s looking for; and he never alters his game plan, so that was a huge hit.”
It was Wade’s third hit of the night, and it was the fifth time he had reached base Wednesday night. The Giants were unable to take the lead, as Estrada flew out to shallow center to end the inning.
However, the Giants once again showed tremendous resiliency. There was the question of whether the Giants would be deflated following their loss Tuesday night, but they responded by coming back from down 5-0 to tie it.
Now the Giants had to get the game to the 10th, and Ryan Walker did just that with a 1-2-3 inning against the top of the Pirates’ order.
Carmen Mlodzinksi, who finished the top of the ninth, was back out for the top of the 10th, and Thairo Estrada was at second as the automatic runner. The automatic runner has been an advantage for the road team since its inception in the 60-Game Sprint Season of 2020, because no matter what, the road team is going to have a runner at second with nobody out in a tied game.
Chapman walked to start the inning, and Bailey joined Wade in having a three-hit game, as he hit a ground ball into right for a base-hit to score Estrada and give the Giants their first lead of the night. Soler then lined a base-hit to left-center to knock in Chapman and make it 7-5.
Ramos joined the hit parade with a single to right to load the bases. Yastrzemski struck out swinging, and Brett Wisely, who came into the game at short in the bottom of the ninth, nicked in Bailey with a sacrifice fly to center.
It was now 8-5 Giants, and they weren’t done yet. Matos, who started the two-out rally with his grit and hustle in the top of the ninth, flipped a base-hit to right-center to score Soler and make it 9-5. Wade drew this third walk of the game, and he also reached base for the sixth time Wednesday night. Estrada then flew out to center to end the inning.
The Giants were once again three outs away from a win up by four runs, and Melvin didn’t take any chances, as he went to Camilo Doval right away for a non-save situation. Connor Joe was the runner at second for the Pirates, and he got to third after Nick Gonzales grounded out to second for the second out of the inning.
Doval was an out away from closing it out, but it still didn’t come easy, as he walked Cruz. Bart then hit a bullet down the line to Chapman, who snagged it at third and threw all the way across to first to end the game on a spectacular play.
The Giants have taken some tremendous blows over the last 10 days, but they have been incredibly resilient. First, they lost Jung-hoo Lee for the season, but they bounced back with a four-game winning streak, which featured an historic performance by Luis Matos. Then after their worst loss of the season last night, they came back from down 5-0 for their biggest win of the season Wednesday night.
“You know, this was a really big game for us,” said Melvin. “If we come back and don’t win that game, it’s almost like losing another really really really tough game.”
“It was awesome,” said Snell. “It [was] fun to watch, fun to support [and] fun to see the boys come through. Especially after Tuesday. [To] see that happen to us, and then show a little bit of resiliency there and make it happen, that was awesome. [We gotta] keep going; we just gotta keep winning.”
Wednesday night was also the first time that the Giants had come back from down five or more runs to win since June 15, 2021, when they came back from down 7-0 to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park on Mike Yastrzenski’s eighth inning grand slam.
Through it all, Ryan Walker got the win, and Carmen Mlodzinksi took the loss. The Giants improve to 24-26, and now they can win the series with a getaway win Thursday.
Melvin has yet to announce who will start Thursday’s game for the Giants, but the Giants will have their hands full against Paul Skenes, one of the Pirates’ top prospects, who is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in his first two starts in the big leagues. First pitch will be at 12:35 p.m. in Pittsburgh, and 9:35 a.m., morning baseball, in San Francisco.
News and Notes:
This was not Snell’s second-shortest outing innings wise, as he went just three and a third innings, but he had his highest pitch count of the year at 87 pitches. Bob Melvin was also quite satisfied with Snell’s start.
“His stuff was a lot better today,” said Melvin. “[His] velo[city] was a little bit higher; [his] breaking balls were sharper, and he was throwing strikes with them…..it looked different to me as far as the quality of his stuff…..endurance wise, I think it was key for him to throw that many pitches.”
Snell shared some thoughts on his outing and progress.
“I feel good,” said Snell. “[The] results will start coming…..we’re gonna get there. I like where I’m at. I’m confident, I feel good, [and] the ball was coming out good.”
Prior to the game, right-handed reliever Nick Avila was optioned to the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels to make room on the roster for Snell.
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