Giants Take Down Pirates
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PITTSBURGH -- Alex Wood pitched six innings while keeping his perfect record intact and Mike Yastrzemski hit a game-sealing home run as the San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 on Sunday.
Wood (5-0) gave up one run while scattering eight hits. He struck out six and walked one as NL West-leading San Francisco gained a split of the four-game series.
It has been a resurgent season for Wood, who went a combined 1-4 with a 5.96 ERA in 2019 and 2020 with the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers while hampered by back problems.
"He's an excellent example of what we believe in as an organization about a pitcher," Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. "He works fasts, pushes the pace, pounds the zone, is around the zone when he's not throwing strikes, resilient, always pushes (to pitch) another inning. If we continue to be cognizant of keeping him healthy, we're confident he's going to continue to produce."
Wood, who is the first San Francisco pitcher to start a season 5-0 since Barry Zito in 2010, feels the Giants' philosophy of having pitchers work fast has helped.
"I've always liked to push the pace," Wood said. "A lot of that is my personality.
"I don't like waiting around. I want to work at my pace. I want to get in my groove. I don't want the hitter to dictate the pace or how fast I'm attacking."
Yastrzemski's two-run homer to right-center field in the ninth off David Bednar extended the Giants' lead to 4-1. Yastrzemski returned to the lineup after missing Saturday's game with side soreness.
San Francisco's Buster Posey had three hits and a walk. The six-time All-Star catcher is enjoying quite a return, batting .382 in 26 games after opting out of last year's shortened season because of COVID-19 concerns.
Kapler has been giving the 34-year-old Posey regular rest and the plan is working.
"I feel really good but, ultimately, it's always going to be about winning games," Posey said.
Sidearmer Tyler Rogers pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth save.
Evan Longoria scored the tiebreaking run in the sixth on a wild pitch by reliever Clay Holmes. Longoria began the inning with a single off Mitch Keller (2-5).
Keller allowed two runs and six hits in five-plus innings while striking out eight and walking three. That was a major improvement over his previous start when he was rocked for seven runs in 3 1/3 innings by Cincinnati on Tuesday.
"I thought it was the best we've seen out of him this year," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "We saw the ball with a different life on it and it was definitely the best execution of his pitches."
The Giants scored a run in the first inning on a grounder and Ka'ai Tom's sacrifice fly tied it in the fourth.
Mauricio Dubon added two hits for San Francisco. Adam Frazier and Erik Gonzalez had two hits each for Pittsburgh.
The Giants left a runner on base in every inning but the ninth and stranded a total of 10. The Pirates left nine men on after winning the previous two nights in walk-off fashion.
ANGELS 6, RED SOX 5
BOSTON (AP) -- Shohei Ohtani hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Angels rallied past the Boston Red Sox, ending a four-game losing streak.
BLUE JAYS 10, PHILLIES 8
DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) -- Television cameras showed a confrontation in the dugout between Phillies manager Joe Girardi and second baseman Jean Segura, who committed two errors.
ORIOLES 10, YANKEES 6
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Maikel Franco homered and drove in three runs, rookie Bruce Zimmermann (2-3) came out of the bullpen to allow one run and two hits over 5 2/3 innings as Baltimore avoided rallied from a four-run deficit to avoid a three-game sweep.
RAYS 7, METS 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Manuel Margot, Willy Adames and Brandon Lowe homered off Marcus Stroman (3-4) as Tampa completed a three-game sweep and extended its winning streak to four.
CUBS 5, TIGERS 1
DETROIT (AP) -- Kyle Hendricks (3-4) allowed one run and eight hits in eight-plus innings, and struck out a season-high eight.
ASTROS 6, RANGERS 2
HOUSTON (AP) --Yuli Gurriel broke a 2-2 tie with a sacrifice fly off Joely Rodriguez (1-2) in a four-run eighth, Chas McCormick added a two-run single and Houston won its sixth straight game.
WHITE SOX 4, ROYALS 3
CHICAGO (AP) -- Wade Davis (0-2) bounced a wild pitch that allowed Jose Abreu to dash home with the game-ending run, capping a two-run rally in the ninth that included Yoan Moncada's RBI single.
ATHLETICS 7, TWINS 6
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) --Matt Chapman had three hits and three RBIs and Ramon Laureano scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the ninth inning by Taylor Rogers (0-2) as Matt Chapman struck out.
BREWERS 10, BRAVES 9
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Freddy Peralta (4-1) struck out eight and allowed two hits over six scoreless innings for Milwaukee, which took an 8-0 lead and held on.
NATIONALS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 0
PHOENIX (AP) -- Erick Fedde (3-4) allowed three hits in seven innings with four strikeouts, Daniel Hudson pitched a one-hit eighth and Brad Hand struck two for is fourth save, finishing a four-hitter.
REDS 7, ROCKIES 6
DENVER (AP) -- Dom Nunez's passed ball allowed home the tying run in the ninth inning and Jordan Sheffield's wild pitch scored the go-ahead run.
MARLINS 3, DODGERS 2
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Adam Duvall hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning off Edwin Uceta (0-2) for three unearned runs in a rally that began with fill-in second baseman Sheldon Neuse's fielding error.
MARINERS 3, INDIANS 2
SEATTLE (AP) -- Mitch Haniger hit two doubles and ended the record streak of Shane Bieber (4-3), who struck out seven, ending a string of 20 games with eight or morw.
PADRES 5, CARDINALS 3
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Rookie Ivan Castillo had a pinch RBI single for his first big league hit to cap a go-ahead, four-run rally in the fourth inning and the San Diego Padres, bolstered by minor leaguers during a COVID-19 outbreak, beat the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals.