Mercury News
First baseman Buster Posey made an error that cost the Giants four unearned runs Friday night. It was the rookie's first major moment of failure on the big stage.
When he got to the dugout, Aubrey Huff was the first player to give him a supportive swat on the behind.
But that wasn't Huff's most significant swat of the night. Not by a long shot.
The roguish power hitter crushed a tiebreaking, two-run home run in the sixth inning as the Giants mounted a four-run comeback — their largest of the season — to claim a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Eli Whiteside hit an energizing, solo homer to finish a 12-pitch at-bat in the fifth and Juan Uribe hit a tying, two-run shot in the sixth. Brian Wilson recorded the final three outs for his 100th career save, as both teams worked late into the night after rain delayed the first pitch by nearly three hours.
The high-powered rally in the sixth made a winner of Jonathan Sanchez (4-4), who didn't allow an earned run in 61/3 innings. And it made for a peaceful night's sleep for Posey, who let pitcher Zach Duke's chopper bounce off his leg with two outs in the second inning.
"Get the young guy off the hook," Huff said. "That's good for Posey, and it's a little payback for Sanchy losing that one-hitter in San Diego (in April). He deserved that."
Even after the Pirates scored four runs following Posey's error, the rookie didn't let the mistake drag him down. He doubled and scored the Giants' first run on Aaron Rowand's double-play grounder in the fifth. Then he singled ahead of Huff's deep drive.
"It's part of the game and you've got to keep on chugging," Posey said. "I just got caught in between. I tried to body it up and it just nicked off my thigh. "... I've played long enough. Things like that are going to happen. You try to move on."
When Huff joined the Giants as a free agent this winter, he figured he'd collect most of his home runs in road grays because of AT&T Park's unfriendly dimensions in right field. But improbably, all six of his previous shots had come on the shores of McCovey Cove.
That's not to say Huff hasn't been frustrated at home. He was visibly upset and shouted into his hat after hitting a 420-foot out in Wednesday's homestand finale.
He worked out some frustration on Duke's flat pitch, then he paced out of the box while admiring its flight. Huff's first road homer nearly was a splash job, too — almost carrying into the Allegheny River.
"Don't church that up," said new Giant Pat Burrell, as reporters approached Huff's locker.
That's baseball parlance for being modest.
"Oh, I ain't gonna church that up," Huff said. "That's all I've got. I cheated on it pretty bad. That one didn't sink as good. There you have it." Duke had better sink while inducing three double plays in the first five innings. The Giants lead the National League with 55 double-play grounders; Pablo Sandoval hit into his 14th twin killing, most in the NL. But Whiteside's long at-bat fired up the dugout. "The first at-bat, I struck out on three pitches," Whiteside said. "So I just wanted to put the barrel on the ball. I did it 12 times, I guess." It was Whiteside's fourth homer in just 58 at-bats and his second in a row while catching Sanchez, with whom he continues to coax results. After striking out Lastings Milledge to end the second, Sanchez retired the next 12 hitters before giving up a leadoff single in the seventh. "That was awesome," Whiteside said. "That's how he's really grown as a pitcher. Two outs, a tough play for an error, four runs, and he came right back out and kept us in that game."
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