Dominic Smith hits go-ahead double in 9th as Giants rally to beat Pirates, take series
PITTSBURGH — Dominic Smith hit a go-ahead double in the ninth inning, and the San Francisco Giants rallied for a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
Jung Hoo Lee hit a one-out double down the right-field line off Dennis Santana (3-4). Smith, pinch hitting for Christian Koss, brought Lee in with another double to right to make it 3-2 and Patrick Bailey extended the lead with an RBI single.
Giants reliever Ryan Walker (4-4) struck out the side in the eighth, including Oneil Cruz with two on and two outs. Randy Rodríguez pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.
In the top half, Isaac Mattson gave up a leadoff single to Bailey, a one-out single to Rafael Devers and another single to Willy Adames before departing with the bases loaded. Matt Chapman tied it with a sacrifice fly.
Nick Gonzales put the Pirates ahead with a two-out single to left in the first. Jerar Encarnacion tied it in the fifth with a 442-foot drive to left off a fastball from Andrew Heaney, his second home run of the season after hitting one in an 8-1 win Tuesday.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa scored on Tommy Pham’s sacrifice in the fifth, giving the Pirates back the lead.
Heaney, who was tagged for one run and two hits in 4 2/3 innings, had retired 12 straight batters since letting the first two reach. Heliot Ramos started the first inning with a first-pitch single, extending his on-base streak to a career-high 20 games, before Devers was hit by a pitch.
Robbie Ray struck out eight in six innings for San Francisco, giving up two runs and six hits.
Cruz hit for Joey Bart in the eighth and struck out on a sinker Walker left over the heart of the plate.
Smith extended his hitting streak to 11 games, tying a career-best stretch from Sept. 4-17, 2020, while with the Mets.
The Pirates have RHP Paul Skenes (6-8, 2.02 ERA) on the mound Thursday to start a four-game home set against Cincinnati. RHP Brady Singer (9-8, 4.36 ERA) will start for the Reds.
