The Pirates only recorded four hits off the Giants Saturday, but three of them left the ballpark, including a Starling Marte walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth.
Jung Ho Kang supplied the rest of the offense with two solo home runs. Marte also took a run away from the Giants after he robbed a home run from Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford in the first inning.
Gerrit Cole went 7 innings for the Bucs, pitching in and out of jams throughout the game, but he only allowed one run while striking out eight. He was in-line for his 15th win of the season, but a Joakim Soria wild-pitch allowed a run to score in the top of the 8th which tied the game 2-2.
The Pirates look to take three of four from the Giants tonight and they’ll do it on a national stage for Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and more importantly on WISR.
First pitch is 8:08 p.m.
The Pirates also gained ground on the Cardinals last night after St. Louis fell to San Diego 8-0. The Bucs are now 3.5 games out of first place. The Cubs stayed with the Bucs with a 9-7 win over Atlanta. Chicago remains three games behind the Pirates.
Probable Starters
PIT: Francisco Liriano (8-6, 3.35 ERA)
SF: Ryan Vogelsong (9-8, 3.93 ERA)
Photo by kene1
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