Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants Match Player Stats On Jul 24, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jul 25, 2017

SAN FRANCISCO -- Andrew McCutchen and Jordy Mercer hit three-run home runs, and Gerrit Cole continued his impressive pitching in his home state, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates bomb the San Francisco Giants 10-3 in the opener of a three-game series Monday night.

Winning for the seventh time in their past nine games, the Pirates scored six times in the first two innings, during which Giants manager Bruce Bochy was ejected.

San Francisco pitching coach Dave Righetti also got tossed in the ninth inning.

The loss was the Giants' seventh in 11 games since the All-Star break.

McCutchen drove in four runs, including three on a two-out homer that capped a four-run second inning against Matt Cain (3-9).

McCutchen already had contributed a run-scoring infield out to a two-run first inning as the Pirates built a 6-0 lead.

Mercer's homer came off Giants left-hander Josh Osich in a game-clinching eighth inning after San Francisco had closed within 6-3. It was Mercer's third hit of the game.

Cole (8-7) went six innings, allowing two runs and six hits. He walked four and struck out four.

The win improved the UCLA product's record to 7-2 in nine career major league starts in California.

Josh Bell collected three hits, and Josh Harrison and David Freese added two apiece for the Pirates, who won their seventh straight game in San Francisco.

The Giants swept a three-game series in Pittsburgh earlier this season.

Buster Posey drove in two runs and Brandon Crawford one as the Giants scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings to climb within 6-3.

Posey, Crawford and Eduardo Nunez had two hits apiece for San Francisco, which fell to 3-5 on its 10-game homestand.

Cain was charged with six runs (two earned) in four innings.

The Pirates out-hit the Giants 14-9.

McCutchen's homer gave the Pirates a 6-0 lead in the second inning and triggered a chain of events that got Bochy tossed.

Cain, unhappy with the work of Chris Conroy behind the plate basically from the first pitch, vented his frustration of the McCutchen homer loudly upon the umpire.

Bochy quickly jumped into the middle of it, sacrificing himself to save his pitcher. It was just his second ejection of the season.

Cain settled down after the incident, allowing only one more hit.

The Giants closed within 6-2 thanks to runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but they left the bases loaded in the fourth and had Brandon Belt thrown out at third base by McCutchen from center field in the fifth.

NOTES: The Pirates have won 11 consecutive games in which they have scored at least four runs. ... The home runs by CF Andrew McCutchen and SS Jordy Mercer were the Pirates' 10th and 11th in their past nine games at AT&T Park. Pittsburgh has hit at least one homer in six straight games in San Francisco. ... Giants SS Brandon Crawford's two hits in three at-bats against Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole improved his career average to .222 (4-for-18) against his brother-in-law. ... RHP Matt Cain extended his winless streak to 11 starts, the longest run by a Giant since Cain went 15 starts without a win bridging the 2015 and 2016 seasons. ... The game was played on the 53rd birthday of LF Barry Bonds, a former star for both the Pirates and Giants. Bonds did not attend the game.