It was the second consecutive below average outing for A.J. Burnett, however the Pittsburgh Pirates offense, led by a four-hit performance from Andrew McCutchen, defeated the San Francisco Giants 7-4 Tuesday night.
McCutchen fell a home run short of hitting for the cycle as the Pirates secured a series win against the Giants who coming into the series had won 13 of their past 17 games.
McCutchen is batting .292 on the season now and is 36-for-89 in his last 25 games, good for a .404 average.
“I thought about [the cycle], but you stay humble,” McCutchen said. “I’m not going up there trying to hit a homer. A month ago I was hoping for a broken-bat single.”
While McCutchen was flirting with the cycle, Burnett [6-1] was flirting with not getting a win in the game as he had a high pitch count through four innings.
The Pirates once again were down 2-0 after one inning, this time because of a Buster Posey double which scored both runs. Burnett then allowed a two-run homer to Brandon Crawford which tied the score at four. The Crawford was challenged because Pirates manager Clint Hurdle felt there was fan interference. A nearly five-minute review allowed the original call to stand.
A four-run third inning off Giants pitcher Chris Heston [5-4] allowed the Pirates to support Burnett and at the time take a 4-2 lead. McCutchen brought home the first run with an RBI single which was followed three batters later by a wild pitch which tied the game. Pedro Alvarez would then change that with an opposite field double to left field that scored the other two runs.
“He let the ball travel to him, put the barrel to it, it was impressive to watch,” said Hurdle of the Alvarez hit. “He continues to find ways to make that subtle adjustment from time to time and hit that pitch away from him hard.”
With the game tied at four it was a Neil Walker fourth inning single which placed the Pirates in the lead for good. Jordy Mercer then hit his first home run of the season, a 414-foot blast to left field.
Burnett ended his outing by setting the Giants down in order. He allowed eight hits, two walks and five strikeouts while allowing the four earned runs. He threw 91 pitches, 58 for strikes.
Another Pirates run was added when McCutchen doubled in Gregory Polanco.
Arquimedes Caminero pitched two hitless innings which allowed the score to stand. It was his sixth hold of the season. Caminero has not allowed a run since May 16, a span of 7.2 innings.
Tony Watson added his 13th hold despite allowing two hits and hitting another Giants batter by a pitch.
Mark Melancon then came in to close the game and after allowing a leadoff single retired the next three batters earning his 15th save of the season. The last time Melancon allowed a run was May 11.
The Pirates will go for their first sweep in San Francisco since May 14-16, 2004 when the team conclude its three-game series Wednesday afternoon. Francisco Liriano [2-4 3.47 ERA] will take the mound for the Pirates against Tim Hudson [3-4 4.62 ERA]. Liriano is 2-1 with a 4.76 ERA against the Giants. It will be the 207th career start for Liriano and 468th for Hudson.
The Pirates are now 28-24 on the season, 8-2 in their last 10 games and a half game back in the wild card standings. If the Pirates win Wednesday then it will be 6-0 against the Giants and Mets, the two teams which currently would represent the National League wild card berths.
Photo courtesy: Ben Margot/AP
