Pirates 9, Giants 2
Andrew McCutchen belted a two-run homer, stole two bases and scored four times as the Pittsburgh Pirates clinched their first series win in six tries with a 9-2 triumph over the host San Francisco Giants on Wednesday afternoon.
Matt Diaz and Brandon Wood also had two RBIs apiece while Jeff Karstens pitched six solid innings for Pittsburgh, which took two of three from San Francisco following its 10-game losing streak.
Karstens (9-6) allowed two runs and eight hits in rebounding from his worst outing of the season. The 28-year-old, who recorded a career-high nine strikeouts, improved to 4-0 in his last seven road starts.
Pablo Sandoval homered for the Giants, who have lost four straight series and 10 of 13 games.
After Karstens drew a leadoff walk in the third, McCutchen put the Pirates ahead for good against Jonathan Sanchez (4-7) with his 16th blast of the season. The All-Star also served as a catalyst, drawing leadoff walks and scoring in the first and fifth innings before getting hit by a pitch to start the seventh and coming around to score.