SAN FRANCISCO — Bryce Eldridge’s first career home run, a towering solo shot that landed in McCovey Cove on a hop, was the lone bright spot on Saturday night at Oracle Park as the Giants were blown out 13-3 by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“Really, for any hitter, that would’ve been a great swing, but for a guy that’s bigger and longer limbs and all that good stuff, it was pretty impressive for him to do that,” said manager Tony Vitello. “Not just to make the contact he did, but to keep the ball fair. He’s always a bright spot as far as his attitude goes around the park, but it’s nice to get some positive feedback from the swings because he hit a couple of balls hard right at guys, too.”
The 13 runs and 20 hits that the Giants’ pitching staff allowed were both the most they’ve surrendered in a single game this year. Three of those runs and five of those hits were allowed by position player Christian Koss, who pitched the ninth inning and allowed a run for the first time in his career.
Koss, getting just his 14th plate appearance of the season, was drilled in the left shoulder area in the bottom of the ninth by Pittsburgh’s Cam Sanders and removed from the ballgame. Logan Porter, called up after the Giants traded Patrick Bailey, entered as a pinch runner.
Vitello said postgame that Koss’ helmet cracked as a result of the bean ball, but Koss was in good spirits after the game.
Eldridge, the Giants’ best position player prospect since Buster Posey, had been quiet at the plate since being called up on Monday along with catcher Jesús Rodríguez, going 1-for-9 with a walk and four strikeouts in his first three games. In the fifth, Eldridge unfurled his first truly impactful swing of the season with his mom and aunt in attendance.
The Pirates’ Braxton Ashcraft started his second matchup against Eldridge with a 96.2 mph four-seam fastball. Ashcraft’s heater was a good pitch given Eldridge’s long arms, but the 6-foot-7 first baseman turned on the pitch and sent a towering 364-foot drive over the right-field fence.
“I’m always ready to hit the fastball,” Eldridge said. “I saw it early, so at that point, I was just trying to stay tight and turn and got the barrel to it. They’ve been pitching me inside a lot, so hopefully continue to earn respect there and have them back off a little bit and be smart about swing decisions over there.”
The ball appeared to land on the boardwalk outside the stadium before plopping into McCovey Cove. Given Eldridge’s strength, it’s only a matter of time before he sends a homer into the water on the fly.
Eldridge secured the ball in exchange for a picture, as well as a signed bat and ball.
“After the home run, I was kind of on the rail in the dugout and I was trying to process what happened,” Eldridge said. “I realized I didn’t really remember much of it. I really remembered only coming around third and seeing Willy and Chappy after I touched home, but I definitely blacked out a little bit.”
Aside from Eldridge’s milestone homer, there really wasn’t anything else that went right from San Francisco.
Right-hander Landen Roupp, who’s arguably been the Giants’ best starter this season, allowed one run over four-plus innings of work, his shortest outing of the season.
“Kind of unacceptable,” said Roupp, who struck out eight. “I have to go longer than four innings. I really didn’t want to come out of the game tonight in the first place, but obviously that’s the manager’s call. I just have to be better. I have to go more than four and make it into the fifth or sixth, just be better in that area.”
The Giants only committed one error when shortstop Willy Adames flubbed a routine grounder, but there were several instances of sloppy defense on San Francisco’s end. After the Pirates put up six runs in the seventh inning, the frame where Adames committed the error, cameras caught Adames slamming his glove in the dugout.
San Francisco nearly went four straight games without a walk until they drew three in the ninth with the game well out of hand.
Trailing by nine runs in the top of the ninth, Vitello sent out seldom-used Koss for his sixth career pitching appearance. Koss hadn’t allowed a run in his first five appearances but surrendered three in the top of the ninth.
When Vitello was asked about some of the scattered boos during the game — Ryan Walker was pelted with some as he walked off the mound — he responded with a question of his own.
“What would you do?” Vitello said. “They paid for their ticket or, at the very least if it was free, chose this over everything else. There’s 85 million shows you could watch on Netflix or any other deal there is in this city. I haven’t gone out much, but when I have, there’s a lot going on.”
Vitello continued: “Whether it’s you paid for your ticket, or you chose to do this over other options, or maybe your walls are painted orange and black and this is the team your whole family for generations has supported, you have a lot invested. So, you want something in return. At the very least, a good effort, maybe execution here and there.”
Up next
The Giants will look to snap a three-series losing streak before heading to Los Angeles for four games against the Dodgers. Right-hander Tyler Mahle (1-4, 5.00 ERA) will face the electric-yet-erratic right-hander Bubba Chandler (1-4, 4.76 ERA) on Mother’s Day.