WILLIAMS BLANKS GIANTS, BACKED BY BELL'S BLAST
A day before he watched Barry Bonds'
number retirement ceremony while warming up in right
field, Trevor
Williams jokingly tweeted he was "slightly
terrified" that Bonds might sign a one-day contract and start for the
Giants on Saturday night.
But Williams breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Bonds
wearing a suit and tie, not his No. 25 jersey, then handled San Francisco's
actual lineup with ease. Williams allowed five hits, all singles, as he fired
seven scoreless innings in the Pirates' 4-0 victory over the Giants at AT&T
Park.
The Pirates now trail the Cubs by seven games in the
National League Central, and they pulled themselves back within four games of
the second NL Wild Card spot.
The Pirates are in the Wild Card hunt. The Pirates needed to
get this win to at least split with the Giants this series. The Pirates knew
that this was an important game for them. The baseball atmosphere amplified a little bit because the game was
sold out. The fans were there to acknowledge the career of Barry Bonds who had
his number retire Saturday night
It was the continuation of an excellent run for Williams,
who has permitted two runs in 29 innings over his last five starts. Williams
has started seven of Pittsburgh's Major League-leading 13 shutouts this season,
with four of those coming in his last five outings.
But Williams did struggle earlier this season. In nine
outings before this five-start stretch, he allowed 37 runs in 41 innings. He
intensified his work between starts, fine-tuning his focus and arm slot in search
of more consistency. It seems to be paying off.
Williams is not an overpowering pitcher, and his plan of
attack is no secret. Of his 104 pitches on Saturday night, 87 were fastballs.
He pounded the bottom of the zone with sinkers and went up in the zone with
four-seam fastballs. He struck out two and walked only one batter, forcing the
Giants to put the ball in play.
The game was a very impressive outing for Williams. When Williams can get [his fastball] down
there and live on the knees, there's some downhill angle to it as well. That's
what's been impressive. Williams has elevated the ball really well. Williams did
a really fantastic job with it.
The Pirates manufactured a run in the third inning to give
Williams a lead. Josh Harrison drew
a leadoff walk against Giants starter Ty Blach, advanced to
second on a single by Jordy Mercer,
took third on Williams' sacrifice bunt and scored on a sac fly by Corey
Dickerson.
Josh Bell padded
Pittsburgh's lead in the fourth. After Gregory
Polanco bunted for a hit and David Freese reached
on an infield single, Bell smashed a 2-2 sinker from Blach into the left-field
seats. The 377-foot homer was Bell's second of the series, his second of the
season as a right-handed hitter and his eighth overall on the year.
Bell is feeling good and he looks good. Bell is just trying
to get pitches that he can elevate and do damage.
Williams finished the sixth inning having thrown 95 pitches,
but he batted for himself and returned to start the seventh with reliever Edgar Santana warming
up in the bullpen. But there would be no need for Santana to take the mound, as
Williams breezed through a nine-pitch inning.
SOUND SMART
This was the Pirates' first shutout against the Giants since a 1-0 victory on
June 20, 2016. The Bucs had not completed a shutout in San Francisco since
winning, 5-0, on July 28, 2014.
WORTH NOTING
The Pirates called up left-hander Buddy Boshers and
right-hander Michael Feliz from Triple-A Indianapolis. Right-handers Clay
Holmes and Casey Sadley were sent down.
TRAINER’S ROOM
PIRATES: Cervelli
left in the fourth as a precaution getting hit in the facemask by a foul tip in
the first. Cervelli has had concussion issues in the past.
GIANTS: 1B
Brandon Belt (hyperextended knee) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A
Sacramento.
UP NEXT
Right-hander Dereck Rodriguez (5-1, 2.34 ERA) pitches the
series finale for San Francisco. Rodriguez leads NL rookies in ERA and is tied
for second in wins. Right-hander Joe Musgrove (4-6, 3.41 ERA) goes for the
Pirates. Pittsburgh has been held scoreless in each of Musgrove’s previous two
starts.
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