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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Russ Davis came through in a pinch for the
second Monday night in a row, and the San Francisco Giants own
their biggest lead of the season because he did.
Davis led off the ninth inning with his second pinch-hit homer
in a week and the Giants, despite playing some unaccustomed shaky
defense, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 Monday night.
|  | | Giants starter Shawn Estes was in trouble early, then settled down, but still came away with a no-decision. |
Davis hit a 1-0 pitch from reliever Scott Sauerbeck (5-2) into
the left-field seats for his sixth homer, helping the Giants to
their 10th victory in 14 games and sending the Pirates to their
fifth consecutive loss.
With Arizona losing 9-6 in Montreal, the Giants opened a 3½-game
lead in the NL West that matches their season high.
Davis had a pinch-hit grand slam the previous Monday as the
Giants beat the Marlins 6-0, yet he says coming off the bench cold
to hit late in the game is very difficult.
"I still back 100 percent what I said after the last one. This
is one of the toughest things in baseball," Davis said. "I sat
back and watched how the other guys approach it, and you have to be
aggressive early in the count. Dusty (Baker) told me that. He told me a
pitch early in the count might be the best pitch you see."
There were conflicting reports how good Sauerbeck's pitch was.
Davis called it a changeup that stayed over the plate, but
Sauerbeck said otherwise.
"It wasn't even a strike," Sauerbeck said. "You know things
are going bad when you get a pitch down like that and he still whacks
it."
Alan Embree (2-3) pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the
victory and Robb Nen finished for his 31st save in 36 chances, his
18th in a row.
The Pirates, who have the majors' worst record (52-77), lost
their sixth in seven games and 14th in 18 games. They also lost
third baseman Aramis Ramirez, likely for the rest of the season,
with a partially dislocated left shoulder.
The Giants led 3-0 in the first and 4-2 in the second, but lost
the lead as both starter Shawn Estes and their usually reliable
defense had trouble settling down.
After making two errors in 18 games, the Giants made two in two
innings.
Estes' wild pitch in the first led to two runs as Adrian Brown
scored from third and Kevin Young came around from second when
catcher Bobby Estalella's throw sailed off a dugout railing for an
error.
The Pirates added a run in the second with the help of shortstop
Rich Aurilia's throwing error. The inning began when Estes failed
to cover the bag on Enrique Wilson's routine grounder to first,
giving Wilson a gift single.
Estalella's passed ball following Warren Morris' leadoff walk in
the third led to Wilson's game-tying RBI single.
"It started out like a Twilight Zone game," Giants manager
Dusty Baker said. "We usually don't play like that: errors, passed
balls, we don't cover first. We didn't play pretty, but we won, and
that was excellent."
Ellis Burks gave the Giants their 3-0 lead with a bases-loaded
double down the left-field line in the first. Ramirez was injured
diving for the ball and will be out 4-6 weeks.
"It's too bad because I thought he was really turning the
corner into becoming the player we thought he could be," manager
Gene Lamont said. "He was becoming a real productive third
baseman."
Bill Mueller added a run-scoring triple for the 4-2 lead in the
second before Pirates starter Todd Ritchie shut out the Giants over
the next five innings.
Estes also found a groove after laboring in the early innings,
finishing with four hitless innings before being lifted for a
pinch-hitter in the eighth. He struck out 10 and walked six, with
three of the four Pirates runs scored by batters he walked.
Estes was seen shouting in the dugout after his defense let him
down.
"Sometimes when I get mad and frustrated, I'm able to step
back, calm down and pitch better," Estes said. "I wasn't going to
let myself leave that game after the first three innings. I knew I
had better stuff than that."
Game notes
The Giants are 12-2 on Mondays. ... Barry Bonds is tied
with Dave Parker for the second-most homers (88) in Three Rivers
Stadium. Willie Stargell hit 147 from 1970-82. This is Bonds' final
series in Three Rivers. ... The Pirates are 0-4 on a seven-game
homestand that runs through Thursday. ... Pittsburgh is 11-24
against the NL West. ... The Giants have gained 12½ games since
trailing by nine games in late May. ... Embree hasn't allowed a run
in his last 12 games. ... The Pirates are 7-19 in August.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
San Francisco Clubhouse
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
RECAPS
Tampa Bay 5
Boston 2
Cleveland 5
Texas 2
Toronto 4
Anaheim 2
Oakland 3
Chi. White Sox 0
NY Yankees 9
Seattle 1
St. Louis 5
Florida 2
Montreal 9
Arizona 5
San Francisco 5
Pittsburgh 4
NY Mets 4
Houston 2
Philadelphia 3
Colorado 2
Cincinnati 6
Atlanta 3
San Diego 8
Chicago Cubs 2
Los Angeles 5
Milwaukee 3
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