Pirates drop under .500 after 14-4 loss to Giants
SAN FRANCISCO — Rookie Patrick Bailey had four RBIs on his 24th birthday, boosting the San Francisco Giants to a 14-4 rout of Pittsburgh on Monday that dropped the Pirates under .500 for the first time since the opening weekend of the season.
Pittsburgh (26-27) has lost 19 of 25 games after a 20-8 start. The Pirates’ only other time under .500 was at 1-2.
Bailey, a catcher who debuted on May 19, was playing his ninth major league game. After hitting a go-ahead, two-run double against 43-year-old Rich Hill (4-5) in a five-run second inning, he added a two-run homer in an eight-run seventh for the Giants’ fifth consecutive hit against Cody Bolton.
Following a 5-2 trip to Minnesota and Milwaukee, the Giants won for the 11th time in 14 games — and for the 14th time in 19 home games.
Austin Slater, in his first game back from a hamstring injury, hit a two-run homer in the second and a two-run double in the seventh. Slater had his third game with four RBIs and first since 2019.
Bailey and Casey Schmitt, who have partnered form a dynamic duo of rookies since their promotions from Triple-A, each had three of the Giants’ 18 hits, as did Slater, Brandon Crawford and Mitch Haniger.
Jack Suwinski hit two solo homers into McCovey Cove off Anthony DeSclafani (4-4) and Brett Wisely, a position player who pitched the ninth. Suwinski has 11 homers this season.
DeSclafini gave up three runs and eight hits in seven innings. He had been 0-3 in four starts since winning at Houston on May 2.
Hill faced a lineup that featured eight right-handed hitters, including three who hit safely to start the five-run second.
The game began with an unusual three-pitch inning against DeSclafani.
Tucupita Marcano led off with a double, and after Bryan Reynolds lined out to center, Andrew McCutchen hit a broken-bat fly to Slater in short left field that turned into a double play when Marcano took off from second and kept running.