SAN FRANCISCO – With one swing, Patrick Bailey belted the ball over the right field wall and should have erased any doubts that San Francisco made the right choice when deciding to roll with Bailey as the everyday catcher.
With onetime catcher of the future Joey Bart watching from the Pirates dugout in his return to Oracle, it his replacement who gave San Francisco a 3-0 victory on the second walk off home run of Bailey’s career.
“I was looking for a fastball,” said Bailey, who got what he wanted facing David Bednar and then launched it into the San Francisco night as the Giants improved to 13-14.
San Francisco Giants’ Patrick Bailey (14) connects for a walk-off three-run home run to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, April 26, 2024. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
It took a spectacular defensive play to reach that point.
With the bases loaded and one out on the board of a scoreless ninth inning, closer Camilo Doval initiated the rare 1-2-3 double play.
He handled a short grounder and flipped the ball to catcher Patrick Bailey to get the force at home, and the catcher made the throw down to first to escape the jam.
“He made a great play, and Flo made a great play at first,” Bailey said.
Getting out of a jam was something the Giants had to do all night after they gave up eight hits, two walks and committed an error. The home team had six hits.
Following the team’s first day off since April 11, the Giants handed the ball to 22-year-old Kyle Harrison for the eighth of a 10-game homestead.
He delivered, throwing six innings and striking out using a slurve, slider, changeup and a four-seam fastball that sat in the mid-90s.
“The slider felt great today, and I was able to use it,” Harrison said. “That’s really something I wanted to have in the past, and knowing now that I can fix it after bad outings is pretty cool.”
Harrison’s big day continued a fantastic stretch by starting pitching. The Giants starters have now allowed two earned runs over 26 innings in their last five starts.
It wasn’t all easy sailing early though.
The De La Salle product had an eventful first couple of innings. Three Pirates got into scoring position, but he ended the first frame by getting a groundout to third baseman Matt Chapman.
He then allowed Pirates second baseman Jared Triolo to round into second with a leadoff double. Facing danger again, Harrison unleashed salvo of slurves and four-seamers to strike out two of three batters.
Pittsburgh got its knocks against Harrison, but the young southpaw avoided surrendering a home run, something the Concord native had struggled with. Harrison had given up a long ball in four of his five other starts.
“It just comes down to execution at that point,” said Harrison, who added that he gets a little “jolt” of excitement when he gets out of a jam. “You bear down and see what you’ve got and get into compete-mode.”
San Francisco Giants pitcher Kyle Harrison (45) pitches against the Pittsburg Pirates in the first inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, April 26, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
He was perhaps helped by the powerful winds swirling around Oracle, which made the violently flapping flags that crowned the top of the park sound like helicopters.
Center fielder Jung Ho Lee also helped the cause by sprinting across the diamond, losing his hat in the process, and snagging a difficult fly ball on the run in the top of the seventh. The feat of athleticism saved a double and drew roars of approval from the 37,110 that attended.
“When that ball was hit, I wasn’t sure he was going to get to it,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said.
Joey Bart made his return to the Bay Area but did not start despite hitting three home runs in 23 plate appearances. Henry Davis started in his place, and the No. 1 pick in the 2021 MLB draft went 0–2 with a walk.
The Giants’ hot and cold offense was frigid against Pittsburg’s Quinn Priester and his 8.31 ERA. Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski’s singles in the second inning were the only offense San Francisco could muster through five. Priester, only 23 years-old, allowed three hits in six innings.
The Giants had a golden opportunity in the sixth when Lee, who has struck out a MLB-low 8.6 percent of the time, slapped a single and LaMonte Wade Jr., who has reached base safely in 12 of 14 games against Pittsburgh, walked with one out.
Jorge Soler and Michael Conforto couldn’t bring them home, striking out swinging and weakly producing a grounder to first respectively.
Soler’s 0-4 day at Oracle is not surprise at this point, the offseason addition hitting a ghastly 7-50 at home.
Pittsburg Pirates pitcher Quinn Priester (46) pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, April 26, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Aroldis Chapman gave the Giants the chance they needed in the eighth inning. He gave up a Nick Ahmed single and two walks, and the only reason the bases weren’t loaded with Soler up to bat was because Ahmed got caught napping on a pickoff.
But with Lee and Wade on base after consecutive walks, Pittsburg’s third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes showed why he snapped Nolan Arenado’s run of 10 straight gold gloves at the hot corner when he corralled a sizzling grounder and stepped on third for the final out.
Once Doval got out of the bases loaded jam, the dormant Giants offense finally delivered.
Conforto walked and Chapman extended his hit streak to seven games with a single. Bednar hurled a wild pitch that allowed both to advance one base, so all Bailey needed to do was get a ball into the outfield.
Maybe he would’ve settled for that last year, but Bailey is a .297 hitter who knew he could win it with a hit. He said that confidence was built last year, when he proved to himself that he could slug at the major league level despite late-season struggles.
How does Bailey maintain that belief with the bat in his hands?
“Just keep hitting,” the walk-off hero said.
San Francisco Giants players wait at home plate for teammate Patrick Bailey (14) after hitting walk-off three-run home run to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, April 26, 2024. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)