The offensive issues that were so apparent over the final couple weeks of the first half were on full display Saturday night at PNC Park, where the Giants managed just three hits and struck out 15 times.
But with their two All-Stars on the mound -- and two others looking sharp -- it didn't matter.
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Michael Conforto's single in the eighth gave the Giants another late rally and another win in Pittsburgh, this one by a 3-1 score in a game that was delayed at the start because of iffy weather. The Giants have won four in a row, getting back to 10 games above .500.
A night after they scored three runs in the seventh, the Giants got a pair in the top of the eighth to take the lead. LaMonte Wade Jr.'s walk got them going, and with two outs and two on, Conforto dropped a single into right off All-Star right-hander David Bednar. That was enough to give the Giants the lead, but a second run scored when the Pirates got messy after the ball had been thrown back to the infield.
The late rally gave the Giants a win on a night when they did just about nothing offensively until the eighth. It didn't matter because of how good Alex Cobb was. Mike Yastrzemski got the scoring started with a solo shot off Johan Oviedo and the Pirates struck back with a solo homer from former No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis, but that was it for either side until the eighth.
Hello, Again
San Francisco Giants
Yastrzemski usually is pretty unemotional between the lines, but back on July 8, 2021, he got into a shouting match with Oviedo, who then was with the St. Louis Cardinals. Yastrzemski had doubled and Oviedo thought he was relaying signs to hitter Wilmer Flores, so he turned and yelled at him. Yastrzemski fired back, and at one point Oviedo turned and yelled for Yastrzemski to "shut the f--k up."
After that game, both players said it was a misunderstanding and that there was no bad blood. Both got some bragging rights on Saturday.
Yastrzemski crushed a fastball to right-center for his 11th homer of the season, but Oviedo also struck him out and got a grounder to first. The homer was the only hit the right-hander allowed, and he struck out the side in the seventh to reach double digits for the second time this season.
Still Got It
Cobb's first start of the second half was a reminder of why he spent the start of the week in Seattle with the rest of MLB's All-Stars.
Cobb said his goal in the second half was to more consistently get deep into games, and he allowed just one run over six innings, with five strikeouts and six baserunners. The outing lowered his ERA to 2.82, which would be the second-lowest of his career if it holds up. Cobb had a 2.76 ERA in 2013, which was his best shot at making the All-Star team before this season.
That 2013 season was interrupted by a line drive back to the mound, and Cobb did get a scare Saturday. Bryan Reynolds hit a 103.3 mph liner off Cobb's left foot in the fifth, but as Cobb went down, the ball ricocheted to LaMonte Wade Jr., who stepped on first to end the inning. Cobb popped right up and came back out to pitch the sixth.
Turning Left
Setup man Tyler Rogers pitched two innings on Friday night, so Gabe Kapler turned to his lefties -- including the other Rogers -- in the late innings on Saturday.
Taylor Rogers worked around a walk and a single in the seventh, getting Jack Suwinski on a nasty slider and then getting Reynolds to fly out. In the eighth, Scott Alexander had a 1-2-3 inning, with J.D. Davis helping out with a nice play on a slow roller to third.
Alexander came to camp with a mustache fit for Mustache May, but it was gone Saturday night. Perhaps the clean shave will lead to some better luck for a key member of the bullpen. Alexander dealt with hamstring soreness for a lot of the first half, but the Giants believe an extended break got him back to where he was last year.
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Camilo Doval gave up a leadoff single in the ninth but shut the door for the second straight night. Doval extended his MLB lead with his 28th save.