PITTSBURGH _ After Giants left fielder Gregor Blanco flew out to lead off Friday's contest, the game took a dramatic, emotional and positively perfect pause.
The man who put baseball back on the map in Pittsburgh stepped to the plate wearing a gray road uniform, but received an ovation only a hometown hero could possibly receive.
Andrew McCutchen waved his helmet to the crowd, soaked in the cheers and basked in the glory of a moment he rightfully earned with nine memorable seasons of contributions in a Pirate uniform.
Pirates fans started the game on their feet, and ended it there too as the club spoiled McCutchen's return to PNC Park by downing the Giants 11-2.
The five-time All-Star and 2013 National League MVP still holds a special place in the hearts of Pirates fans, as they roared at umpire Chris Segal when he rung McCutchen up on a called third strike to end his first at-bat.
While McCutchen's first trip back to Pittsburgh since a January trade allowed Pirates fans to pack their home park, the Giants' continued struggles kept them in a good mood through the end of the night.
After being swept in a four-game series by the Phillies, the Giants fell under .500 by dropping the series-opener for their fifth consecutive defeat.
Rookie Andrew Suarez was the starter the last time the Giants won, but he battled command issues throughout four rough innings against a Pirates team that's now won four in a row.
Suarez surrendered a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to Pirates center fielder Starling Marte, but escaped a jam later in the frame after walking back-to-back hitters.
The Giants rewarded Suarez for two clean innings in the top of the fourth when Austin Jackson delivered a two-out single with the bases loaded to put the knot the score at 2. After falling behind in the count 0-2, Jackson took a fastball that narrowly missed off the inside corner before lining a pitch into right center field for his 10th and 11th RBIs of the year.
At the beginning of Jackson's at-bat, Pittsburgh's scoreboard flashed a graphic featuring a spray chart of the center fielder's balls in play this season. Only five percent of Jackson's contact landed in right field, but his game-tying single proved he has the capability to take the ball the other way.
Jackson's two-out knock came against left-hander Steven Brault, who entered after starter Jameson Taillon exited following the third inning with a finger laceration on his pitching hand.
The Giants tagged Brault for a pair of runs, but a steady stream of Pirates relievers who followed limited San Francisco's offense. The Pirates regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI triple from Jordy Mercer, which was followed by a pinch-hit two run home run off the bat of Jose Osuna.
Suarez was lifted after the fourth and became the fifth straight Giants starter who failed to pitch into the sixth inning. Over the past five games, Giants starting pitchers have combined to throw just 22 innings and allowed 23 earned runs.
The staff hasn't received nearly enough run support for the Giants to remain competitive, either, as hitters have struck out 69 times since the start of the losing streak. Of the Giants' last 182 plate appearances, 38 percent have ended with punchouts.
With five consecutive 11-strikeout games at the plate, the Giants will have a chance to tie a franchise record that dates back to May of 1997 for the longest streak of games posting a double-digit strikeout total on Saturday.
As the Giants emptied out their bullpen, so did the Pirates who used right-handers Kyle Crick and George Kontos in relief of Taillon. While McCutchen did give the 34,720 a reason to cheer during the game with a double in the seventh inning, so did Crick, who was dealt to the Pirates in the January swap.
Crick worked around a leadoff single and pitched a scoreless fifth while Kontos retired McCutchen with the bases loaded in the eighth to preserve the Pirates' six-run lead and take any remaining intrigue out of the game.
Former Pirate Tony Watson, who spent six-plus seasons with Pittsburgh, also received a warm ovation when he entered to pitch the eighth on Friday. Because Watson didn't pitch against Philadelphia, he was one of the few Giants who didn't contribute to the damage done during the four-game sweep.
But alas, no Giant goes unscathed these days, so a pitcher who entered with a 0.57 ERA served up a three-run home run to Max Moroff before Bruce Bochy pulled him.
