Giants squander too many chances before brutal collapse vs. Pirates originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Matt Chapman and Thairo Estrada’s homers. Marco Luciano‘s second multi-hit performance in three games. Logan Webb pitching at least six innings for his third straight game, and tying his season-high of six strikeouts.
There were plenty of positives to pick and choose from Tuesday to start a six-game road trip for the Giants. At least through the first eight innings, where the Giants entered the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park with a four-run lead before losing 7-6 in 10 innings.
The Giants appeared to be on their way to a five-game win streak. Eight batters later in the bottom of the ninth inning, Luke Jackson and Camilo Doval squandered San Francisco’s lead. A run-scoring error by Luciano with the bases loaded in the ninth also was a crucial part of the loss.
Erik Miller threw one pitch, a changeup low and away that Nick Gonzales grounded up the middle and into center field, before the game was over.
A collapse like that is all that will be talked about after a frustrating loss. The Giants also had so, so many chances to put the Pirates away earlier in the game.
A four-run, ninth-inning lead theoretically should have been even more.
“There were a lot of little subtle things,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said to reporters about the loss. “Probably more at the plate in the fact that we were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.”
From the jump, the Giants were the ones to first take advantage of a Pirates mistake. With two outs and two men on base, Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz lost a Wilmer Flores pop fly in the sun and dropped the would-be third out of the first inning. Thairo Estrada jogged in from third base and Luis Matos sprinted from first to home to give the Giants an early 2-0 lead.
It was the top of the fourth inning when the Giants began being presented pristine opportunities by the Pirates, only to stumble in pursuit. A Luciano single sent Flores to third base with two outs and the Giants up by two, but Curt Casali couldn’t capitalize and grounded out to third base. San Francisco scored two runs to give themselves a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning.
That also was the inning where the Giants could have, and should have, opened this game wide open.
Chapman’s double knocked starting pitcher Martin Perez out of the game after just 4 1/3 innings pitched. Flores and Heliot Ramos then both worked six-pitch at-bats…