Pirates edge Giants 6-5

Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News

Reliever Jeremy Affeldt is known to get a bit squirrelly when throwing to bases. Giants manager Bruce Bochy jokes that Affeldt has knocked out more season-ticket holders than the recession.

But there was nothing wrong with Affeldt's throw to second base in the eighth inning Tuesday night. He threaded it perfectly to shortstop Edgar Renteria, who promptly dropped it.

The huge mistake set up the tiebreaking run, and the Pittsburgh Pirates scored twice more in the ninth against Brandon Medders as the Giants lost 6-5 at AT&T Park.

The Giants defense, so maligned by scouts and other observers before the season, hadn't cost them as they won six of their first seven games. Even Renteria's mistake probably falls in the column of freak happenings more than any true skill deficiency.

"It's not something you're going to see often," Bochy said. "That was an aberration more than anything. It just didn't stick in his glove. I think our defense is going to be fine."

Renteria said he didn't see the ball out of Affeldt's hand.

"I don't know why," the veteran shortstop said. "Maybe because he wound up and threw. "... I threw up my glove to protect my face."

It was a dispiriting end to a night that otherwise held positives. The Giants rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the score in the sixth inning. They made noise in the ninth, too, when Eugenio Velez hit a two-run home run. His shot into the arcade in right was preceded by Nate
Schierholtz's pinch double.

But Octavio Dotel retired the next three hitters, including Pablo Sandoval on a game-ending line drive that first baseman Garrett Jones snagged with a diving effort down the line.

Jones also knocked in the tiebreaking run in the eighth. His soft single scored Andrew McCutchen, who should have been wiped out on the force play after Affeldt fielded a hopper from Lastings Milledge.

But Affeldt bore responsibility for walking McCutchen in the first place — a sin made greater by the fact that the speedy center fielder had scored twice earlier against Matt Cain, both times stealing his way into scoring position.

Cain took awhile to find his bearings. He struggled to work ahead in the count, sweated in the stretch and did well to hold the Pirates to three runs in the first three innings. But he retired the final 10 hitters he faced to complete six innings and give the Giants a chance to get back in the game.

"I was trying to find something mechanically, and I was erratic with my heater," Cain said. "I found it, and I tried to go from there."

Leadoff man Aaron Rowand started two innings with hits, scoring in the third on Sandoval's single and crossing the plate in the fifth on Mark DeRosa's double to right field.

Sandoval was easily thrown out trying to score from first base; he went in high and hard but failed to knock the ball out of catcher Ryan Doumit's glove.

"I'd just assume Pablo slide there," Bochy said. "He's one guy we can't afford to lose."

The Giants used unexpected means to score the tying run in the sixth. Bengie Molina drew a walk, then went from first to third on a single — two things not usually in his repertoire. Molina scored on Velez's pinch ground out.

Molina's walk marked his ninth consecutive plate appearance to reach safely. He was 7-for-7 with two walks dating to the eighth inning of Sunday's game with the Atlanta Braves. The streak ended there, as Molina struck out in the eighth.

Medders hadn't pitched since Sunday, and he threw off a bullpen mound earlier in the day. He surrendered a towering home run to Andy LaRoche and a hard-hit triple to Ryan Church, who scored on Akinori Iwamura's single.Pirates left-hander

Paul Maholm made the play of the game in the third inning, flipping the ball out of his glove to first base while sprawled on his backside to throw out Aubrey Huff.

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