Clint Hurdle's decisions magnified in Pirates' 3-2 loss to Giants

The Pittsburgh Pirates gave themselves little margin for error Sunday at PNC Park, producing only five hits in a 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

But there was plenty of room for anyone in the crowd of 12,396 to second-guess the manager, making the Pirates’ first defeat after a five-game winning streak a hot topic for discussion.

The best place to start is the ninth inning when No. 7 hitter Bryan Reynolds’ two-out double into the right-field corner looked like the second dramatic, run-producing hit by a Pirates rookie in two days.

The ball didn’t carom cleanly into right fielder Steven Duggar’s glove. Yet, he retrieved and threw it in time for cutoff man Joe Panik’s throw home to beat the potential tying runner, Jung Ho Kang, who was out by several feet to end the game.

“The ball kicked funny off the wall,” manager Clint Hurdle said, “and Joey (Cora, third-base coach) pushed it. He’s aggressive over there, and they made a perfect relay.”

Reynolds said he thought his hit had a chance to tie the game.

“That would have been cool, but that’s baseball,” he said.

Hurdle could have pinch-run for Kang, a slow runner, with Pablo Reyes or a relief pitcher (perhaps the athletic Steven Brault)?

“If we pinch-run Reyes (and he doesn’t score), we don’t have a hitter in the pitcher’s spot,” said Hurdle, figuring Giants left-handed reliever Will Smith would intentionally walk pinch-hitter Elias Diaz.

Hurdle would have used Diaz instead of the next hitter, Jason Martin, to avoid a left-on-left, game-deciding confrontation.

What about going conservative and holding Kang at third?

“Let’s second guess,” Hurdle said. “Diaz comes to hit, and what do they do with Diaz? Do they pitch to him or put him on?”

If Diaz is walked, that would leave Reyes, who is 3 for 27, as the last available hitter after J.B. Shuck and Adam Frazier had pinch hit in earlier innings.

Which brings the discussion to pinch-hitting for starting pitcher Chris Archer in the bottom of the fifth after only 83 pitches and four scoreless innings.

With the Pirates trailing, 3-2, Reynolds, who was 3 for 4, was on second with two out after a single and wild pitch.

“I’m not a big fan of taking (Archer) out,” Hurdle said, “but I’m a bigger fan of winning games. Eighty-three, he’s got room to still work and if (the score is) 2-1 or 2-2 and the runner’s on first, it’s even different.

“We told him if the runner’s on first, you’re going to hit. If the runner’s in scoring position, we’re going to hit for you and try and tie the game up.”

Shuck bounced out to shortstop to end the inning.

Relief pitchers Richard Rodriguez, Keone Kela, Francisco Liriano and Nick Kingham kept the game close. After getting only five hits, including a two-run homer by Josh Bell, the Pirates (12-7) ended up losing while holding the opponent under four runs for the 10th game in a row.

“It wasn’t my best day by any means,” Archer said,” but I did everything I could to keep the game close.”

His biggest mistake was a pitch in the top of the fifth that Buster Posey rocketed over the fence with two runners on base.

“I left a pitch down the middle to a good hitter,” Archer said. “I was trying to go in, get a ground ball for a double play and it just stayed in the middle.

“I definitely didn’t want to (come out), but I understand the logic. If any of our pitchers wanted to come out, that would be a problem.

“I wasn’t upset. I wasn’t frustrated. I wanted to be out there, but I understood the logic from multiple different viewpoints.”

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