Giants 5, Pirates 2
Aaron Rowand had two hits and three RBIs and Ryan Vogelsong was impressive in his first major league start in over six years, as the San Francisco Giants posted a 5-2 road victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday in the rubber game of their three-game series.
Nate Schierholtz went 2-for-2 with a run and Pablo Sandoval drove in a run for the Giants, who have won five of their last six series.
Neil Walker continued his torrid pace by going 3-for-4 with an RBI for Pittsburgh, which has lost six of nine. Walker has collected 11 hits in 20 at-bats over his last five games.
Vogelsong (1-0) last started in the majors for the Pirates on Sept. 29, 2004. He allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings with a career high-tying eight strikeouts.
Three relievers bridged the gap to Brian Wilson, who struck out three in a scoreless ninth for his seventh save in eight opportunities.
San Francisco rebounded from its first shutout loss of the season, rallying for four runs in the third inning thanks to some shoddy defense by Pittsburgh.
Jeff Karstens (2-1) surrendered five runs - two earned - and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. He also committed one of Pittsburgh's four errors in falling to 5-13 lifetime at PNC Park.