Michael Conforto hits tiebreaking RBI single in 8th as Giants beat Pirates for 4th straight win

By JOHN PERROTTO
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Michael Conforto hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning and the San Francisco Giants extended their winning streak to four games with a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night.

After LaMonte Wade Jr. walked and Joc Pederson singled with one out against rookie Carmen Mlodzinski (1-2), All-Star closer David Bednar entered and struck out J.D. Davis. Conforto then hit a line drive into right field. Wade scored on a play at the plate, beating right fielder Henry Davis’ throw. Pederson also scored when Pirates catcher Jason Delay threw wildly to second in an unsuccessful bid to get Conforto.

“When it’s a well-pitched game, it usually comes down to one big hit and Conforto got it for us and then obviously some very good baserunning on the play,” San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler. “It’s one of the toughest at-bats in baseball (facing Bednar). It might be the toughest in some ways.”

Conforto was playing in front of what he estimated were 35 to 40 family members. His father Michael grew up 100 miles east of Pittsburgh in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and was a linebacker at Penn State.

“They were out near the foul pole in right field cheering me on,” Conforto said. “So, it was good to come through for them.”

Both starting pitchers were outstanding. Pirates starter Johan Oviedo gave up only one hit, a homer to Mike Yastrzemski, in seven innings while striking out 10 and walking three. The innings and strikeouts matched career highs.

Oviedo became the first Pirates pitcher to work at least seven innings and strike out at least 10, while allowing one or no hits since Francisco Cordova pitched nine innings of a combined no-hitter with Ricardo Rincon in 1997 against Houston.

Oviedo remained winless in 10 starts since beating Arizona on May 19.

“As a pitcher, my first goal is always to give my team a chance to win the ballgame,” Oviedo said. “I’m not trying to worry about things that I cannot control. You always try to win the ballgame … tomorrow is a new day.”

The Giants’ Alex Cobb went six innings and gave up one run and four hits. He struck out five and walked two after pitching a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game on Tuesday.

“I think it kept me sharp to pitch in the All-Star Game instead of the alternative,” Cobb said. “The All-Star break, you can kind of call it a trap because it’s like the end of the school year. The travel back and forth and the chaos of the All-Star Game is tough, but I felt good tonight.”

Taylor Rogers (5-3) worked a scoreless seventh, and Camilo Doval worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for his major-league leading 28th save. San Francisco moved into a second-place tie with Arizona in the NL West, 2 ½ games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yastrzemski and Henry Davis hit solo home runs in the second inning to open the scoring.

Yastrzemski’s blast to center field traveled 411 feet into the shrubbery in front of the batter’s eye and was his 11th of the season. Davis countered with a 422-foot shot to the left-center bleachers for his second career homer in 22 games.

The Pirates dropped to 2-9 in July and a season-high 10 games under .500 at 41-51. They are 21-43 since beginning the season 20-8.

Davis had two hits for the Pirates, and fellow rookie Jared Triolo extended his hitting streak to eight games.

The start of the game was delayed 40 minutes because of the threat of inclement weather.

PRIESTER GETTING PROMOTED

Pirates pitching prospect Quinn Priester is to make his major league debut Monday night with a scheduled start against Cleveland.

Priester was the Pirates’ first-round pick in the 2019 amateur draft. The 22-year-old right-hander is 7-3 with a 4.31 ERA in 18 starts for Triple-A Indianapolis this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Giants: Conforto (ribs) played a day after getting hit in the ribs with a pitch and leaving the game. … OF Austin Slater (bruised left heel) was not in the lineup after being injured in Friday’s game, but was available off the bench. … OF Luis Gonzalez, who has been out all season while recovering from lower back surgery, is nearing the point where he can begin a rehab assignment.

UP NEXT

The three-game series concludes Sunday with rookie RHP Osvaldo Bido (1-1, 4.44 ERA) pitching for the Pirates. The Giants will go with LHP Alex Wood (4-3, 4.68).

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