SAN FRANCISCO — Nobody throws more split-fingered fastballs than Keaton Winn, and the rookie let 31 more fly in his third consecutive quality start.
Winn, the rookie from Iowa, allowed three hits in six strong innings — despite admitting postgame that he didn’t have his “best stuff.” Thairo Estrada and Mike Yastrzemski combined for San Francisco’s first back-to-back homers of the season, supporting the starter.
After Winn departed, a pair of rookie relievers and Camilo Doval protected the two-run lead Winn left with.
Doval allowed a run and put the go-ahead runner on first with a pitch clock violation — a consistent bugaboo for him — but still escaped in the top of the ninth.
The Giants (14-15) walked off the Pirates in the series opener and held them off in the finale in a 3-2 win, taking two of three from Pittsburgh. They’ve won two straight series and can get through an up-and-down April at .500 with a win on Tuesday in Boston.
“We’ve been spotty,” manager Bob Melvin said postgame. “I mean, you look at the stats across the board, whether it’s pitching numbers or offensive numbers, it hasn’t been great. But to sit here right at .500 or a game below, and we know there’s a lot more in there — it’s not a horrible place to be.”
Winn lowered his ERA to 3.18 on the season. If the rookie can continue to perform like he has the past few turns, he’ll add even more depth to what looks to be a major strength for the Giants.
San Francisco’s starters rank 10th in ERA, and that’s as reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell has struggled, and Robbie Ray and Alex Cobb remain on the injured list.
However, hitting, especially for power, has been an issue for San Francisco. The Giants didn’t touch rookie Jared Jones through the first two innings, as he faced the minimum six batters. The Mirada native, who pairs a 100-mph four-seamer with a bending slider, entered with a 2.79 ERA.
But in the third, the Giants got to Pittsburgh’s rookie. Estrada led off the third inning by smacking Jones’ first pitch over the left field wall.
The solo shot was Estrada’s fourth on the season, as he’s starting to heat up after a slow start.
Also heating up: Mike Yastrzemski. Right after Estrada rounded the bases, the right fielder cracked a 402-foot dinger to straightaway center.
“We knew (Jones) was going to be a tough customer to score runs off,” Melvin said. “When you get back-to-back homers, it feels like more than just two runs.”
Yastrzemski started the season 1-for-20 but has since batted over .300. His OPS, which cratered to .154 in the early-season slog, is up to .656 in less than a month.
“Not having the start that I wanted, pressing, trying too much,” Yastrzemski said postgame. “Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to let that go. Finally, let it go and focus on the things I need to instead of the scoreboard.”
Consecutive singles and a LaMonte Wade Jr. sacrifice fly gave the Giants a 3-0 lead after three innings. The way Winn was pitching, three runs inspired confidence.
Winn struck out the side in the third and then needed 12 pitches to retire the side when he retook the mound with the three-run cushion.
Winn surrendered a run in the top of the fifth but twirled out of trouble with a groundout and two punchouts. Apart from Rowdy Tellez’s lined double, Winn’s sinker-splitter combination kept the ball on the ground. Eight of Winn’s 20 called strikes or whiffs came on his go-to splitter.
As Melvin mused pregame, Winn had just pitched into the seventh inning for the first time in his life in his last turn of the rotation. The righty pitched even better against the Pirates, but Melvin replaced Winn with reliever Erik Miller to start the seventh.
Given late-inning options Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers had each pitched in the first two games of the Pirates series, it was curious that the Giants didn’t try to steal an extra inning out of Winn, who only threw 80 pitches. But the 26-year-old “wavered” just enough when the skipper asked about going back out for the seventh, Melvin said. Winn hasn’t reached 90 pitches yet this year.
Melvin’s move didn’t come with harm, though. Erik Miller worked a scoreless seventh, and Ryan Walker followed him with a quick eighth. Then Doval, in his third straight game, looked shaky but got the final out on a checked swing to secure his fifth save — and the series.
“When (Doval’s) got a save out there, that’s a big carrot for him,” Melvin said.
