Pirates Defeated 6-0 By Giants
SAN FRANCISCO (KDKA/AP) -- After ending a 10 game slide on Monday night, the Pirates looked to start a new winning streak in game two of their series in San Francisco.
But Chris Stewart hit his first major league home run and Aubrey Huff had another solo shot as the Giants defeated the Pirates 6-0 on Tuesday night.
James McDonald (7-6) pitched six innings for the Bucs, allowing three runs and four hits.
The Pirates did have a few scoring chances during the game, but saw their best one snatched away.
Ronny Cedeno had a one-out double in the fifth and moved to third with two outs on McDonald's ground out. Then, Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval made a diving stop to rob Andrew McCutchen of extra bases and save a run.
That's sort of how things have gone lately for the Pirates. They sat in first place in the NL Central a little more than two weeks ago. Suddenly, they can put consecutive wins together.
For San Francisco, Madison Bumgarner (7-11) struck out 10 and walked one in seven innings. The lefty was one strikeout short of his career high, which came against Cleveland on June 26.
Huff also had an RBI double to help chase McDonald.
Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless eighth and Santiago Casilla got out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to finish off the Pirates.
With Bumgarner having another superb outing, San Francisco finally gave him a rare source of power.
Stewart sent a fastball from McDonald in the fifth over the left-field wall to give the Giants a 2-0 lead. He sprinted around the bases and was mobbed by teammates in the dugout after his first home run in 140 major league at-bats.
Huff followed with his home run over the brick wall in right in the sixth to put San Francisco ahead 3-0. The homer was his 11th of the season and a big boost for a Giants team playing without injured slugger Carlos Beltran, nursing a strained right hand for the second straight night.
San Francisco's 28 home runs at AT&T Park are the lowest for any team in the majors at home.
Nate Schierholtz, Cody Ross and Orlando Cabrera also drove in a run each to highlight a two-run eighth for the Giants, and they could've had far more. The Giants were 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
The Pirates and the Giants finish off their three-game series today at 3:45 p.m.
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