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 Second baseman Neil Walker broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run double in
a three-run fifth inning as the Pirates prevailed in a rematch of
last year's National League wild-card Game, won 8-0 by the Giants.
Cole pitched seven innings and was gone before Giants catcher Buster
Posey, representing the tying run, hit a long, high foul fly down
the right field line with two outs in the eighth inning.
A fan wearing a No. 24 Pirates jersey with "Bonds" on the back
reached over the wall separating the field from the seats and got a
glove on the ball as Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco was
reaching for it.
It was initially called just a foul ball, but Pirates manager Clint
Hurdle challenged the ruling, and it was overturned by the review
panel in New York, ending the inning with Pittsburgh clinging to a
4-3 lead.
The fan was ejected even before the umpires signaled Posey out.
Pirates closer Mark Melancon pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th
save.
Cole (8-2) gave up two unearned runs in the first inning and then
shut out the Giants over the next six, allowing five hits in his
seven innings. He walked two and struck out nine.
He joins Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners and Bartolo Colon
of the New York Mets as the majors' only eight-game winners.
Cole also scored twice, both times on sacrifice flies by center
fielder Andrew McCutchen.
Catcher Chris Stewart had three doubles for the Pirates, accounting
for half the team's six hits.
The Pirates won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Right-hander Ryan Vogelsong, who went unbeaten in five starts in
May, took the loss. He gave up four runs, three of which were
earned, on five hits in six innings. Vogelsong (4-3) walked two and
struck out five.
Left fielder Nori Aoki and second baseman Joe Panik had two hits
apiece for the Giants, who like the Pirates finished with six hits.
The loss was the Giants' third in a row.
The Giants made two brilliant catches in the outfield in the first
five innings on extra-base bids by McCutchen, but they couldn't
prevent Pittsburgh from taking a 4-2 lead.
Right fielder Hunter Pence slid to his right to deny McCutchen with
the bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning. Cole scored from
third on what turned out to be a sacrifice fly, McCutchen's second
of the game, tying the score at 2-2.
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Pirates second baseman Neil Walker, promoted to the cleanup spot for
the series opener, followed with a liner to the fence in
left-center, a two-run double that scored third baseman Josh
Harrison and Polanco and put Pittsburgh on top 4-2.
Neither pitcher allowed an earned run through four innings, but
Vogelsong nonetheless found himself with a 2-1 lead.
The Giants used a throwing error by Pirates shortstop Jung Ho Kang
as a springboard to a two-run first inning off Cole. First baseman
Brandon Belt's two-out, two-run double plated Aoki and Pence with
unearned runs.
Center fielder Angel Pagan kept the Giants in front with a diving
catch on another McCutchen's first blast into the gap with the bases
loaded in the third. Once again it was Cole who scored on the
sacrifice fly, which got the Pirates within 2-1.
NOTES: The Giants began the month of June as one of only two teams
in the majors, along with the St. Louis Cardinals, to have four
regulars batting .300 or higher. The San Francisco foursome consists
of LF Nori Aoki (.309), 1B Brandon Belt (.306), CF Angel Pagan
(.305) and 2B Joe Panik (.300). ... The first two games of the
series feature two of the top candidates for National League Pitcher
of the Month in May. Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong, Monday's starter,
went 4-0 with a 1.14 ERA in five starts in May; Pirates RHP A.J.
Burnett, scheduled for Tuesday, went 5-0 with a 1.82 ERA in six
starts. ... Pirates manager Clint Hurdle announced before the game
that LHP Jeff Locke, who has struggled in his last eight starts and
was roughed up in Sunday's loss at San Diego, will remain in the
rotation and make his next scheduled start Saturday in Atlanta. ...
The Giants learned earlier in the day that RHP Robert Coello, who
was attempting a comeback at Triple-A Sacramento, opted out of his
minor league deal. The Giants were trying to convert Coello, a
three-year veteran who made 33 major league relief appearances in
2010, '12 and '13, into a starter.
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