Miguel Yajure pitched well enough to earn the win. Luis Oviedo actually earned it. And the Pirates offense did just enough to cobble together the runs necessary in extras to beat the Giants, 3-2, in 11 innings on Friday at PNC Park.
Down 1-0 and 2-1, the Pirates started their game-winning rally in the 11th with an Adam Frazier triple off the Clemente Wall, scoring Michael Perez from second base. It was the fourth hit of the night for the Pirates second baseman, who’s now hitting .315 on the season.
After Kevin Newman popped out, the Giants intentionally walked Bryan Reynolds and Will Craig to get to Gregory Polanco. The Pirates right fielder brought the run home with a well-struck fly ball to center field, cementing the walk-off win with a sacrifice fly.
It was the first win of Oviedo’s career, after the rookie was put in a pretty big spot by manager Derek Shelton. In the 11th, Austin Slater connected with a fastball up in the zone to score shortstop Brandon Crawford, giving San Francisco a 2-1 lead.
After walking pinch-hitter Darin Ruf, Oviedo did an excellent job settling down to record a pair of groundouts, escaping further damage.
To reach extra innings, the Pirates needed another rally, this started by a Frazier single to left field. Newman followed with a single to center, putting runners at the corners with no one out.
Reynolds followed with a single to right field off reliever Jake McGee, which created a 1-1 tie. The Pirates had a chance to add to their lead with Newman on second, but Craig, Polanco and Erik Gonzalez each struck out swinging.
The only other run of the game until that point came on a solo home run by Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford against Duane Underwood Jr., who has now been scored upon in four of his past six appearances.
In the eighth, Underwood Jr. fell behind in the count, 3-1, and missed with a change-up up in the zone. Crawford drove it over the fence in right field.
Until the ninth inning, the most impressive thing to come out of this game was easily the work of Miguel Yajure, the 23-year-old right-hander the Pirates acquired in the Jameson Taillon trade.
Yajure gave the Pirates five innings of shutout ball, allowing a hit and a walk and striking out four. The Pirates need to find a way to get Yajure more starts. Whether it’s a six-man rotation or shifting Trevor Cahill to the bullpen, Yajure absolutely looks like he belongs.
Most impressive about Yajure might’ve been his command of the strike zone, as he threw 35 of his 57 pitches for strikes. For someone so young, he certainly doesn’t lack the confidence or ability to trust his defense.
Secondarily, Yajure has an advanced command of both his cutter and change-up, two things that can be rare for pitchers his age. Against the Giants, Yajure barely had to use his breaking balls because the other stuff worked so well.
But more than just Yajure, who was nothing short of terrific, this was a night about the entire Taillon trade and how that has provided the Pirates a considerable — and necessary — amount of talent. It’s basically been a reverse-engineered version of the Chris Archer trade.
As good as Yajure has been, the best of the Taillon bunch might be Roansy Contreras, who hasn’t allowed an earned run over his first two starts with Class AA Altoona (11 innings), striking out a league-high 22 and walking just two.
Meanwhile, outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba — the third piece of the deal — homered again for the Curve and at one point during Friday’s game led the team in batting average (.333), on-base percentage (.520), slugging (.611) and OPS (1.131).
At Low-A Bradenton, infielder Maikol Escotto has also been outstanding. His single on Friday raised his season average to .370 — not bad for an 18-year-old FanGraphs has said has top 100 potential, an infielder with a terrific mix of athleticism, arm strength, power and the ability to hit for average.
Until the ninth inning, it looked for a while in this one like the Pirates could use some contributions from Smith-Njigba, Escotto or anyone else with a bat.
Their offense has struggled a lot lately, with MLB’s lowest OPS with runners in scoring position (.580) over the past 15 days, scoring a single run in three of their previous four this week.
Pittsburgh failed to score in the fifth after a bloop double from Polanco, leading off the inning. Ka’ai Tom, Wilmer Difo and Perez all struck out. They should have ended the game there. You simply have to make contact there — a ground ball to the right side, a bunt, a fly ball, anything.
Similar deal in the sixth. Frazier stroked a one-out double for his second hit of the game. Newman flew out to center, and Reynolds struck out to end the inning.
The Pirates wound up striking out 12 times against Giants starter Kevin Gausman before showing signs of life in the ninth.
After Richard Rodriguez held San Francisco off the board in the 10th, the Pirates moved their runner — Gonzalez — to third base with one out before Perez and Jacob Stallings struck out against submariner Tyler Rogers.
