McCutchen has homer, four hits to lead Pirates to 3rd win in 4 games, 6-3 over Giants

McCutchen’s 4 hits lead Pirates past Giants 6-3

PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen had four hits, including a homer, and scored three runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.

Ryan Doumit also homered for the Pirates and had four RBIs, and Paul Maholm (4-4) allowed two runs over 6 1-3 innings to become the first Pirates starter to win a game in almost three weeks.

Maholm allowed six hits, did not walk a batter and had one strikeout. The Pirates have won seven of his past 11 starts.

Pittsburgh has won three of four since snapping a five-game losing streak.

Andres Torres had three hits, a run and an RBI for San Francisco, which had won six of its previous eight.

Todd Wellemeyer (3-5) was charged with six earned runs on nine hits with three walks and two strikeouts in three-plus innings, his shortest start this season.

The Giants nearly came all the way back from a 6-0 deficit when Freddy Sanchez almost had his third hit of the game — a potential bases-clearing double — with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth. But Pirates left fielder Lastings Milledge made a diving catch on the warning track.

Playing in his 162nd career game one year and one day since being called up with hype that he could help rescue a moribund franchise, McCutchen led off four separate innings with hits: Two doubles, his seventh home run and a single.

He led off the game with a double and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Doumit.

The Pirates batted around in the third, with the first five batters of the inning getting hits against Wellemeyer. McCutchen doubled and scored on a triple by Neil Walker, who reached base three times. Doumit followed with his sixth homer into the seats in right.

The next inning, McCutchen led off with a hit again — this one a high home run to left on a 1-1 pitch to tie him for the team lead in homers and make it 5-0.

Wellemeyer allowed Walker to reach on a walk and he eventually scored on a Doumit ground-rule double.

The Giants came back from a 4-0 deficit the previous night in Pittsburgh, and they scored twice in the sixth when Sanchez, a former Pirates player, hit an RBI double and scored on a groundout by pinch-hitter Matt Downs.

San Francisco added another run in the ninth with two hits and two walks against Pirates closer Octavio Dotel, including an RBI single by Torres.

NOTES: The most recent Pittsburgh starter to earn a victory was Zach Duke, who out-dueled Roy Halladay May 18 in Philadelphia. … McCutchen’s numbers for his first 162 games: .297 average, 19 home runs, 108 runs, 71 RBIs, 35 steals. … The Giants lost for only the third time in 14 games against NL Central teams. … San Francisco has scored during only three of their past 38 innings played on the road. … A postgame fireworks and concert promotion led to the second sellout of the season at PNC Park.