PITTSBURGH -- Backed by the Giants' biggest inning of the year and a season-high 22 hits, Johnny Cueto continued his dominant stretch against an opponent that's too often seen him at his best, beating the Pirates, 15-4, on Tuesday night at PNC Park.
A night after being shut out by Jeff Locke and three Pirates relievers, the Giants gave Cueto plenty of breathing room. San Francisco broke out against Pittsburgh spot starter Wilfredo Boscan in the fourth, putting up seven runs and batting around before recording an out. Angel Pagan delivered the biggest hit, a first-pitch grand slam to center field, and Conor Gillaspie followed with a two-run homer deep into the right-field seats. The Giants' 15 runs were the most allowed by the Pirates this season and the most ever scored by San Francisco at PNC Park. The Pirates, meanwhile, have allowed double-digit runs in four of their last 12 games -- but Tuesday night was an unfortunate high mark for the struggling Bucs, who had to send backup catcher Erik Kratz to the mound in the ninth inning.
Over 6 2/3 innings, Cueto limited the Pirates to one run on four hits while striking out six, picking up his 11th win and cruising to a career-high eight-game winning streak. In nine starts since May 7, Cueto has put together a 1.07 ERA. Changing uniforms has done nothing to cease his mastery of the Pirates, as he improved to 19-4 with a 2.10 ERA in 29 career starts against Pittsburgh. Cueto's effort and a breakout night for San Francisco's lineup put the Giants back in the win column, giving them 28 victories over their last 37 games.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Anatomy of a big inning: Pagan's grand slam and Gillaspie's two-run homer obviously were the biggest hits in the Giants' fourth-inning outburst. But the key to the inning might have been Brandon Crawford's 11-pitch bases-loaded walk, which immediately preceded Pagan's first-pitch clout. From his vantage point in the on-deck circle, Pagan saw everything that Boscan had by the time he stepped in the batter's box.
No. 1 for No. 58: Positive moments were few and far between for the Pirates, but catcher Jacob Stallings notched a memorable accomplishment in the seventh inning, recording his first Major League hit and RBI -- a double to left field off Cueto that put the Bucs on the board. Stallings was called up to make his Major League debut Sunday, and with catcher Chris Stewart apparently healthy enough to play -- he pinch-hit in the eighth inning -- Stallings may be heading back to Triple-A soon.
WHAT'S NEXT
Giants: Right-hander Jeff Samardzija, who snapped a two-game losing streak last Friday against the Rays by pitching a complete game, will be in comfortable environs when he opposes the Pirates on Wednesday. Samardzija owns a 1.26 lifetime ERA at PNC Park, where he has limited opponents to a .167 batting average. Overall, he has a 2.25 ERA against the Pirates.
Pirates: Left-hander Francisco Liriano will try again to turn around his season when he takes the mound at PNC Park on Wednesday night. Liriano, Pittsburgh's Opening Day starter, fell to 4-7 with a 5.03 ERA after giving up four runs on six hits and five walks against the Cubs on Friday.
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Adam Berry has covered the Pirates for MLB.com since 2015. Follow him on Twitter at @adamdberry.
Chris Haft has covered the Giants since 2005, and for MLB.com since 2007. Follow him on Twitter at @sfgiantsbeat and listen to his podcast.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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