What we learned as Chapman, Bailey, sparked Giants’ comeback vs. Pirates originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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The Giants, one night after giving up four runs in the ninth inning and losing in the 10e, gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a taste of their own medicine in a 9-5 win on Wednesday at PNC Park. This time it was the Giants who made a huge comeback.
San Francisco trailed 5-0 after a disastrous fifth inning, then scored six runs between the eighth, ninth and tenth innings.e innings.
LaMonte Wade Jr.’s third goal scored Luis Matos, who batted earlier and rushed to second when Bryan Reynolds bobbled the ball, tying the game in the ninth inning. Patrick Bailey’s third goal in the 10e inning was the exclamation point on the Giants’ efforts, putting them ahead 6-5. The Giants scored four points in the 10 as a teame.
Blake Snell made his first Major League start since April 19, but was retired with one out in the fourth inning, the Giants already trailing 1-0 and the bases loaded after hitting Andrew McCutchen in the foot. The first hitter reliever Sean Hjelle faced, Reynolds, hit a 368-foot grand slam into the right-field stands.
Snell’s ERA, after being tagged for four earned runs, actually dropped from 11.57 to 11.40.
Matt Chapman homered for the second straight game and four Giants enjoyed a multi-hit night. Wade reached base six times. He went a perfect 3-for-3 and walked three times.
Here are three takeaways from the Giants coming off a win.
Snell’s return
Like the rest of Snell’s previous three starts for the Giants this year, last season’s NL Cy Young Award winner was disappointing. Snell struckout five Pirates, a tie for the highest score this season. He faced 19 batters and forced 15 swings and misses. Snell’s speed was there, and he threw some nasty breaking balls.
The southpaw also struggled mightily with his control and command of the strike zone. It was immediately clear.
Snell’s first two pitches weren’t exactly hits. From then on his fortunes did not turn in his favor. In just 3 1/3 innings, Snell had a season-high four walks. He also was hit by a pitch, threw a wild pitch and was saved several times by catcher Patrick Bailey.
While Snell threw a whopping 87 pitches on the season, he also hit just 10 outs. This wasn’t the step forward he and the Giants were hoping for after a dominant rehab outing in Triple-A Sacramento.
Making Jones work
As Snell looked for control, so did starting pitcher Jared Jones. This issue has been a problem in the past for Snell, whose 99 walks led all starting pitchers last season. Wednesday was a first for the 22-year-old Jones.
Jones’ 1.2 walks per nine innings early in the evening were the best in baseball. He had walked just seven batters in his first nine starts all season. The Giants walked three from Jones in six innings.
That’s a new season high for Jones, who has walked a total of two in his previous three starts this month. Chapman’s homer was off Jones, as was Bailey’s double. Two of Bailey’s three hits came from Jones, and so did two of Wade’s three.
Jones beat Snell, but the Giants made him work as much as any team this season.
Stay warm, Chappy
Chapman, like Snell, signed with the Giants late in the offseason and got off to an extremely slow start. His problems at the beginning of the season seem to be a thing of the past for now. At least that’s what the past week has suggested.
The Giants’ third baseman went 1-for-3 on Wednesday with a two-run no-doubt that narrowed the deficit in the top of the sixth inning. Chapman’s home run certainly wasn’t cheap either.
He ripped an up-and-away fastball 450 feet to the left-field seats. Chapman’s home run had an exit velocity of 110 mph, the second-hardest hit ball of the day. Ironically, former Giants catcher Joey Bart’s hardest hit was a 107.5 mph single in the second inning.
Chapman also walked to load the bases in the eighth inning. Since May 17, Chapman is hitting .579 (11-for-19) with two home runs, three doubles and five RBI in a five-game span. His batting average of .245 would be Chapman’s highest since hitting .249 during his lone MLB All-Star season in 2019.
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