Pirates grind out series opening win over Giants

Noah Hiles, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul 29, 2025

Published in Baseball

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SAN FRANCISCO — Don Kelly’s club failed to score a run in the first three games of its last road trip. This time around was a different story.

A strong day at the plate lifted the Pirates to a 6-5 victory over the Giants Monday evening at Oracle Park. Yohan Ramirez was the game’s winning pitcher, improving to 1-0 on the season. Giants reliever Carson Seymour suffered the loss, dropping to 0-1. The win marked the sixth for the Pirates in their last seven contests.

Nick Gonzales gave Pittsburgh an early lead, smashing a two-out solo homer to left field in the top of the first inning. After allowing the Giants to tie the contest in the bottom half, the Pirates tallied three more runs in the top of the second, two of them coming on a double from Isiah Kiner-Falefa and a third on a single from Tommy Pham. All four runs were scored against left-hander Carson Whisenhunt, who made his big-league debut.

Pirates starter Mitch Keller failed to take advantage of his run support, allowing a pair of runs in the bottom of the second which ultimately brought his day to an early end. The Pirates bullpen, however, rose to the occasion, allowing just two more runs for the remainder of the night.

Ramirez carried the bulk of that workload, throwing 2 ⅓ scoreless innings of relief. While his outing did start with allowing the game’s tying run to score on a single by Willy Adames, he kept the Giants in check afterward, allowing no additional hits for the rest of his time on the mound. That run was charged to left-hander Genesis Cabrera, who replaced Keller at the start of the bottom half of the third inning.

Andrew McCutchen put the Pirates ahead for good in the top of the seventh, smashing a two-run homer to left field against Seymour. The reliable trio of Isaac Mattson, Dennis Santana and David Bednar maintained Pittsburgh’s advantage. Bednar allowed an earned run in the bottom of the ninth, the first he has surrendered in his last 24 outings. He still managed to conclude the victory with a save, his 17th of the season.

It was over when…

McCutchen homered to left in the top of the seventh inning. The longball was his 10th of the season, traveling 383 feet at a 103.6 mph exit velocity. McCutchen became the 11th player in MLB history to tally 10 or more home runs in his first 17 big-league seasons. The other members of that group: Hank Aaron, Eddie Murray, Carl Yastrzemski, Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, Frank Robinson, Harold Baines, Mickey Mantle, Jeff Kent and Willie McCovey.

On the mound

In what could perhaps be his final start as a Pirate, Keller had his worst outing of the season. The veteran right-hander lasted just two innings, allowing three runs, all earned, on five hits and three walks while striking out three batters over 73 pitches. The effort marked his shortest start since Aug. 16, 2022, when he also went only two innings against the Boston Red Sox.

Whisenhunt, meanwhile, battled his way through five complete innings in his first major league start. After allowing four runs, all earned, in his first two frames, the youngster finished by posting a zero in the top of the third, fourth and fifth. He and Keller ended with a no-decision.

At the plate

The Pirates tallied nine hits in their win, four of them being extra-base knocks. Tommy Pham contributed a multi-hit effort, extending his hit-streak to eight games. Ke’Bryan Hayes was the lone member of Pittsburgh’s starting nine who failed to reach base safely.

Most valuable player

Ramirez, who grinded out 2 ⅓ innings of relief to earn his first win of the season.

Up next

The Pirates and Giants will continue their three game series Tuesday evening at Oracle Park. Left-hander Bailey Falter (7-5, 3.82) will face off against right-hander Justin Verlander (1-8, 4.70) on the mound. The game will be televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh, and on the radio on 93.7 The Fan.