Rally gets 'The Shark' off 'The Hook'

Jeff Samardzija equaled the shortest start of his nine-year career, San Francisco found itself staring up at a five-run hole just three innings into Wednesday’s game at Pittsburgh, and somehow it all worked out. 

Five relievers spun zeroes the rest of the way (yes, even Santiago Casilla) and the bats erupted in the middle innings as the Giants logged a 7-6 win over the Pirates at the second-nicest park in baseball.

Samardzija kicks the mound after getting kicked himself. (AP Photo)

Yeah, it’s pretty. It’s also been a house of horrors for San Francisco, which won back-to-back games at PNC Park for the first time since 2011.

The victory guaranteed the Giants no worse than a split of the four-game set, which concludes on Thursday morning, Bay Area time (that’s not a real thing but, whatever) and locked in a winning record on the seven-game, East Coast swing.

It also allowed the Giants, at 46-27, to maintain a 5 ½-game lead over Los Angeles, which kept pace with a gift-wrapped 4-3 win over Washington.

The Dodgers have made up precious little ground despite winning six in a row and eight of their last 10.

Over his last five starts, The Shark has acted more like a dolphin trapped in a net trying to convince a fisherman he’s not a tuna. Sandwiched around last week’s complete-game win at Tampa Bay are four starts in which Samardzija has thrown a combined 17 2/3 innings, going no more than five in any one game while surrendering 15 runs. That's an ERA of 10.60, which we passed on just because we like math.

Fortunately the Giants wore their hitting shoes. Pirates starter Francisco Liriano (yes, one of the guys SF gave up to get AJ Pierzynski all those rings ago) allowed four runs and six hits in five innings as San Francisco clawed all the way back.

Samardzija was once again bitten by the long ball. John Jaso led off the game with a solo shot (Matt Joyce later contributed an RBI single), Gregory Polanco added a three-run blast in the second, and Jung Ho Kang laced a two-run shot in the third as Pittsburgh built a 6-1 lead. Only a grand slam stood between Samardzija and a dubious cycle, but Manager Bruce Bochy had mercy and lifted him after eight hits and two walks on just 64 pitches.

Pittsburgh fought the Law,and you know the rest. (AP Photo)

The assault was interrupted only by Ramiro Pena’s RBI single in the top of the second, but the Giants started chipping away in the fourth. An RBI single by Crawford got momentum moving in the right direction, and the Giants added two more in the fifth as Buster Posey ground-rule doubled in a run and Angel Pagan contributed a sacrifice fly to pull the Giants within striking distance at 6-4.

Ah, but the sixth inning was where the fun was. Jared Hughes subbed in for Liriano, and he clearly forgot his rabbit’s foot. Brandon Crawford led off the frame with a deflected infield single. Pena stroked a double to the right-center gap that easily plated Crawford, then pinch-hitter Jarrett Parker’s comebacker was deflected by Hughes for another hit. A run was home, there were runners at the corners with no outs, and the Giants had hit just one ball out of the infield.

Denard Span’s grounder to first moved Parker up 90 feet but forced Pena to hold third. Joe Panik followed with a drive that almost made-up for Pagan’s oops from Monday. The opposite-field liner into the left field corner went off the glove of Polanco, normally a right fielder. Both runners scored and the Giants had their margin.

Derek Law (3-1), born and raised in Pittsburgh, pitched two innings and got the win. Hunter Strickland, Josh Osich and Cory Gearrin got the game to the ninth and (no!!!!) Casilla, who worked around a lead-off single for his 15th save. A strike-‘em-out, throw-‘em-out double play ended it with, appropriately, Jaso as the final out. Nice bookends, guys.

Pena, Span and Brandon Crawford each had two of the Giants' dozen hits as every member of the starting eight hit safely.

The road trip ends tomorrow with Albert Suarez (2-1, 3.69 ERA) getting the early Getaway Day start as he continues to sub for the injured Matt Cain. Jonathan Niese (6-4, 4.74 ERA) goes for the Bucs and he’s been lit in his last two starts giving up 12 runs over 10 2/3 innings.

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