Pirates vs Giants Recap: Skenes shines but Giants surge

The Pittsburgh Pirates traveled to San Francisco on Saturday, May 9, to take on the Giants in a matchup between two teams looking for different things. Pittsburgh came into the game riding a one-game winning streak after beating the Diamondbacks 4-2, while San Francisco struggled with a one-game losing streak following a tough loss to the Padres. The Pirates relied heavily on their ace pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski to lead the way against Giants starter Robbie Ray. Meanwhile, the Giants were without their anchor Logan Webb, who sat on the injured list dealing with soreness. Both teams knew this game mattered as they pushed toward the middle of May. San Francisco hosted the Pirates at their home stadium, hoping to turn things around quickly after their recent rough patch.

In the second inning, Ozuna smashed a home run to left field that traveled 365 feet off an 85-mile-per-hour slider. His bat met that pitch with an exit velocity of 105 miles per hour, and the ball soared high into the San Francisco sky. That home run gave the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. However, the Giants answered right back in the bottom of the second when Devers launched a home run to center field. His blast went 399 feet and made it 1-1. By the fourth inning, San Francisco took the lead when Ramos singled and Devers scored, pushing the score to 2-1. The game stayed tight through the middle innings, but everything changed in the seventh inning when the Giants erupted with three runs. Gilbert and Arraez both singled, driving in multiple runs and extending San Francisco's advantage to 5-1.

Although the Pirates tried to mount a comeback in the final inning, they couldn't quite catch up to San Francisco. In the ninth inning, Horwitz singled to right field and drove in Cruz, giving Pittsburgh one final run to make it 5-2. However, it wasn't enough to overcome the Giants' powerful seventh-inning outburst. The Giants held on to win the game 5-2, giving them a much-needed victory after their recent struggles. For Pittsburgh, the loss dropped them to 22-18 on the season despite their strong pitching staff built around ace Paul Skenes. San Francisco improved their record and stayed home at Oracle Park, where they'd been struggling. This game showcased how quickly momentum can shift in baseball when one team gets hot at the plate and the other can't respond fast enough.