Law Leads Bullpen in Homecoming, Giants Fight Back in 7-6 Victory
Justice delos Santos
Jun 23, 2016
5 min read
When your starter's first pitch of the ballgame is launched into orbit and nearly out of the ballpark, the chances are that your team is not going to be in for a good night.
When that same starter allows two more home runs in the next two innings and has totaled six earned runs at the end of three innings, most teams are more than ready to throw in the towel, cut their losses, and prepare for the next one.
Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San Francisco Giants are not most teams.
Yes, Jeff Samardzija did allow a 418-foot bomb off the bat of John Jaso in his first pitch of his outing.
Yes, Samardzija allowed two more dingers to Gregory Polanco and Jung Ho Kang in the second and third, respectively, and, having allowed six runs, was out of the game by the third inning.
And, yes, the Giants did trail 6-1 at the end of the third inning.
It wasn't easy, and it wasn't pretty, but the Giants somehow, someway squeaked out a comeback 7-6 victory against the scuffling Buccos.
The San Francisco bullpen deserves all the credit in the world for this win for holding down the fort when the Shark, plain and simple, didn't have his killer bite.
For Derek Law, the first man out of the bullpen, this was more than just another regular appearance.
Law, born and raised in Pittsburgh, grew up a fan of the Pirates and tonight was the rookie's first opportunity to pitch as a professional in the city that raised him in front of friends and family.
This outing was not Law's first chance to pitch in PNC Park, as he had taken a no-hitter into the seventh inning in a summer league championship ballgame back in his youth, but this appearance undoubtedly was one he'll never forget.
When the right-hander entered the game, filled with an overflow of adrenaline, he was greeted by a barrage of "D-Law" chants, and by the end of his outing, those cheers were a little louder as he exited the game having struck out three over two innings.
To top it all off, Law's recorded the win when everything was all said and done.
The rookie's dream-like outing would be a little sour if the Giants ended up getting clobbered, but Law's outing set the tone for the rest of the pen, which would go on to pitch a combined six innings of shutout ball.
Hunter Strickland, Josh Osich, and Cory Gearrin were among the men responsible for maintaining the deficit and protecting the lead.
One takeaway from Osich's start specifically was the movement of his pitches, as the lefty had razor-sharp bite on a two-seam fastball that clocked in at 98 MPH.
All three of the names listed above are capable of throwing some serious heat, and it is encouring to observe how the young bucks are making the transition from throwers to pitchers.
The bullpen finding success if nice and dandy, but if there's no offense, the Giants are losing this game, and the masses are ripping into Samardzija while the bullpen becomes a mere side attraction in regards to the bigger picture.
Instead, right after the Pirates scored their sixth and final run in the third, the bats got busy and started chipping away.
Heading into the fourth with a 6-1 deficit, Brandon Crawford reduced Pittsburgh's lead to four with a single to drive in Mac Williamson.
Buster Posey and Angel Pagan kept the comeback train moving in the following inning.
The red-hot Posey stuck the bat head out and muscled a ground-rule double over the right-field foul fence to drive in Denard Span, and Angel Pagan knocked in Joe Panik, bringing the Pirates' lead to only 6-4.
In the seventh, the Giants fully completed the comeback and generated the three runs they needed to take the lead.
Ramiro Peña, who is quickly reaching Joaquin Arias levels of bench-player fandom, knocked in another run after putting the Giants on the scoreboard in the second.
Peña set the stage once again for Panik, who came into the game with two go-ahead base hits on back-to-back games in the Tampa Bay series.
The All-Star second baseman did not disappoint, as with runners on second and third, the lefty sliced a double over the glove of Polanco to drive in Peña and Jarrett Parker, giving the Giants a one-run lead.
With the Giants coming into the ninth inning with a lead, Bruce Bochy brought in his guy, Santiago Casilla, who made his first appearance since coming back from paternity leave, to shut the door on the Pirates.
The closer didn't get his outing started off on the right foot, allowing a single to Jordy Mercer, which gave PNC Park a little bit of life, yet Giants fans know all too well that it wouldn't be a Casilla save without a little bit of a bump in the road.
Despite the lead-off single, Casilla induced a force out off the bat from Jaso, putting Jaso on first with one out for Polanco, who may have come into the at-bat looking to end the game with one swing of the bat.
Casilla and Polanco battled it out, and on the payoff pitch of an eight-pitch battle, Casilla got Polanco to strike out swinging, then Buster Posey threw out Jaso to end the ballgame on a strike 'em out throw 'em out.
Just a typical day at the office for one of the hottest teams in baseball.
Mac Williamson, who made his first start since being called up yet again, quietly had a fine day at the dish, reaching base via three walks and a base knock.
Williamson's lone hit stuck out in that it left the bat at a screaming 115 MPH. Pirates' third baseman Jung Ho Kang stood no chance in trying to stop the liner.
Unfortunately, Samardzija's bad outing still needs to be discussed.
The Shark has been hit hard with a classic case of the June Swoon. In his four starts in the first month of summertime, the right-hander has a 6.36 ERA and has allowed eight home runs after only allowing five in April and May combined.
Samardzija's inability to locate his pitches has been the root of his problems, as although he got away with leaving pitches up in the zone in his first hand full of outings, those mistakes are coming back to bite him.
Leaving his pitches out over the plate was the same problem which led to him giving up a major league-leading high 29 home runs last season.
The formula for Samardzija is simple, at least on paper: get the pitches down, and good things will happen.
Lucky for Samardzija, he has Dave Raghetti in his corner, and there's no doubt the two will spend time working out the kinks.
Every player in the starting lineup had at least one hit, and Denard Span, Crawford, and Peña all had two hits, and the Giants have totaled 34 hits and 22 runs in the past two days.
Remember when it was a good game when the orange and black scored three runs?
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