Bucs Save the Best For Last; Come Up Big In the Ninth To Take 6-4 Win Over the G-Men

Madison Bumgarner fanned two of the first three Bucs. A walk, bunt and single put G-Men on the corners against Trevor Williams; another knock put SF up 1-0. The Pirates got a Joey O walk and Stalls single in the second without denting the scoreboard. It was a clean frame for Willy. The Bucs made no noise in the third. The Giants banged out back-to-back raps with an out, but an around-the-horn DP cleaned that up. Joey O was robbed of extra bases by Kevin Pillar in the fourth around a pair of garden variety outs. Willy bopped a batter with two gone; he was quickly erased by Jake trying to steal. Stalls celebrated by leading off the fifth with a dinger; Erik Gonzalez also singled but to no further avail. Too bad; Willy gave it back and some. With a knock and a walk on second and third thanks to a double steal, Brandon Belt's two-out, two-strike, two-bagger plated the pair and it was 3-1 Giants. Consecutive doubles to leadoff by B-Rey and Melky got a run back in the sixth, but the Bucs couldn't get the equalizer home. The Giants came right back; a double/single combo and a tapper plated an answering tally. After a two-out walk, Michael Feliz came on to get the final out.

Jake had a pair of raps, including a four-bagger - photo Joe Robbins/Getty

The Pirates opened the seventh with a Tuck double and Gonzalez walk. Two pop ups and a K left them anchored. Yacksel Rios climbed the hill and tossed a quiet frame. Tyler Rogers threw a 1-2-3 eighth; Ric Rod gave up a two-out rap in a scoreless effort. Fernando Abad took over in the ninth. He gave up a knock to Kevin Kramer, and an out later walked J-Bell. Eli dropped a single into left to juice the sacks. Starling came in to run for Josh, Jandel Gustave took over the hurling duties, and K-Man kept the party going with a two-run, game-tying rap. B-Rey had a true pro at bat, ripping the ninth pitch for a single and the lead. Melky bounced into a first-blush force, but upon review, the ball was muffed at second, leaving the sacks packed. It gave the Bucs an unearned insurance run on Joey O's sac fly, niftily scored on a snaky slide by Newman. Felipe Vazquez was waved in, and two whiffs and a bouncer later, it was time to raise the Roger.

Well, goes to show that you can't always prejudge the result by the lineup. It was the usual suspects who primed the late rally, but it all started off with Kevin Kramer's rap. Nice win for the boys; even nicer to see the bullpen putting up zeroes (looking at you, Yacksel) to give the gang a chance to thump their chests.

Notes:

• Reynoldo and Stalls had two hits each; Erik Gonzalez had a knock and a walk.
• Bryan Reynolds tied Paul Waner's club mark for most doubles by a rookie when he banged his 35th two-bagger in the sixth. Big Poison's mark was set back in 1926.
• Greg Brown, from the broadcast booth, said that Starling will be down for at least a couple of more days and maybe longer.  
• Tony Watson has been diagnosed with a slight fracture in the wrist of his pitching hand. He’ll be sidelined for at least 10 days, with the remainder of his season in jeopardy.