Pirates' bullpen blows another big lead, as Giants rally with 5-run 8th to win series

The San Francisco Giants survived six innings against Paul Skenes and three home runs, including a grand slam by their former first-round pick Joey Bart, before getting to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ weakness.

A beleaguered bullpen blew a big lead for the second consecutive game, surrendering five runs in the eighth inning as the Giants rallied for a 7-6 comeback win Thursday afternoon before 23,162 at PNC Park to clinch a victory in the three-game series.

It marked the first time since 1998 the Giants won back-to-back games in which they trailed by four or more runs since doing so with walk-off wins against Milwaukee (8-7) on April 26 and the Pirates (6-5) the following day.

Never before had the Giants accomplished that feat on the road, but they did so against the Pirates despite giving up grand slams in both games.

“Frustrating. Very frustrating,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We have to finish games like that.”

The Pirates wasted a quality start by Skenes, who allowed one run on six hits and one walk while striking out three in his third career start, drawing 13 whiffs on 50 swings and a dozen called strikes in throwing 62 of his 93 pitches for strikes.

Skenes topped 100 mph on his fastball four times — all in the first inning — and found he was more efficient in getting weak contact, as evidenced by the eight groundouts he induced against only three flyouts.

“I wish it were a little bit more,” Skenes said. “Had a couple long innings, but there’s going to be those games. I thought I made do and put the team in the best position to win. That’s the game within the game a little bit with pitching.”

The Pirates provided run support for Skenes, with a leadoff homer by Andrew McCutchen, an emphatic slam by Bart and an insurance homer by Bryan Reynolds.

They were perilously thin in the bullpen, however, after using five relievers in Wednesday’s 9-5 loss in 10 innings. To add depth, they recalled lefty Jose Hernandez and optioned struggling slugger Jack Suwinski to Triple-A Indianapolis before the game.

Hernandez replaced Skenes in the seventh but gave up a solo home run to Heliot Ramos to make it 5-2. Reynolds answered with one of his own, driving Luke Jackson’s 1-1 fastball 401 feet to right for his seventh home run and a 6-2 Pirates lead in the seventh.

For the second straight game, the Giants rallied late. After Hunter Stratton gave up singles to LaMonte Wade Jr. and Thairo Estrada, Matt Chapman hit a 1-1 slider 409 feet into the visiting bullpen for a three-run homer to cut it to 6-5. Jorge Soler doubled off the right-field wall and scored on a single down the right-field line by pinch hitter Wilmer Flores to tie the score.

The Pirates lifted Stratton in favor of lefty Aroldis Chapman, and pinch runner Marco Luciano took advantage of a wild pitch to advance to second and a passed ball to reach third before scoring on Brett Wisely’s single to center to give the Giants a 7-6 lead.

“It’s a concern,” Shelton said. “Our bullpen’s gotta be better. We have, what, a 5-1 lead yesterday (and a) 6-2 lead today? We have to be better. Our bullpen has to be better. We have to win games like that.”

San Francisco, by contrast, relied on its bullpen by using lefty reliever Erik Miller as the opener. McCutchen hit Miller’s 1-0 fastball 395 feet toward the North Side Notch, where Giants center fielder Luis Matos nearly robbed him before the ball popped out of his glove as he crashed into the wall. It was McCutchen’s third leadoff homer this season, 13th with the Pirates and 25th of his career.

Nick Gonzales led off the second inning with a triple off the center-field wall but was left stranded when Miller got Jared Triolo to ground out to short and Rowdy Tellez looking at a full-count fastball down the middle. Mason Black relieved Miller and got Bart to ground out.

Skenes breezed through his first three innings despite giving up three singles, thanks to a pair of double plays. In the fourth, he was ahead in the count before walking Estrada, and a Chapman single to right put runners on the corners. Soler grounded to third, where Triolo threw to second for the forceout but Gonzales couldn’t turn the double play, allowing Estrada to score the tying run.

The Pirates answered in a big way. Connor Joe drew a leadoff walk, Gonzales worked a full-count walk and Triolo was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After Tellez swung at Black’s first pitch and popped out to left, Bart took a ball then crushed a fastball 434 feet off the batter’s eye in center for his first career grand slam and a 5-1 lead.

“I felt good, definitely,” Bart said. “Nice to square a pitch up like that, put in all the work. You dream for swings and situations like that. So it was pretty cool.”

That it came against the Giants, who drafted him No. 2 overall in 2018, mattered little to Bart.

“I don’t know, man, I’ll take any one I hit,” said Bart, who has four homers in 21 games with the Pirates since being acquired in a trade April 2. “Any home run, any base hit, anything. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing.”

It was the fourth grand slam this season for the Pirates, with Suwinski hitting one April 14 at Philadelphia, Edward Olivares on May 6 against the Los Angeles Angels and Reynolds on Wednesday against the Giants. It marked the seventh time since 1900 but the first time since 2000 that the Pirates hit grand slams in back-to-back games.

Bart also became the first Pirates catcher to hit a grand slam since Jacob Stallings against Edwin Diaz in a walk-off win over the New York Mets on July 17, 2021. Bart was ejected in the eighth inning by first-base umpire Alex Tossi after arguing a call on a groundout to third.

Ji Hwan Bae led off the ninth by reaching on an error by Luciano but was thrown out attempting to steal second base when Luciano applied the tag to his torso before he could reach the bag. That prevented Bae from being in scoring position on an ensuing single to left by Reynolds. Joe popped out in foul territory to end the game.

“It goes back to being really frustrating,” Shelton said. “We’re starting to get better at-bats. We had some opportunities we didn’t capitalize on, but we kept going. Bryan hit the homer to make it a four-run game and a bullpen that’s pretty depleted anyway, so it gives us a little cushion and then we can’t hold the lead. Our bullpen’s gotta be better.”