Heading into Friday night's showdown against the Pittsburgh Pirates, many dynamics of the San Francisco Giants changed drastically. Of course the obtainment of Marlon Byrd is an exciting development, but the announcement that Nori Aoki and Mike Leake have officially been activated from the disabled list only adds to the elated anticipation for Giant fans. With Madison Bumgarner on the mound coming off of two consecutive complete games, the stars seemed to be aligned for the creation of a game that would mark a true turning point for the Giants' 2015 season.

The first inning transformed this possibility into reality as the Giants scratched three runs on the board early. The first came via a sacrifice fly from Buster Posey to score recently activated Nori Aoki who singled to start the game. Matt Duffy (who followed Aoki's single with a walk) wasn't able to advance on the fly out from Posey, so he stood at second base with two outs as Marlon Byrd approached the plate for his first at-bat in a Giant uniform. On a 1-2 count, Byrd demonstrated the power that the Giants got their paws on with a home run off a low and inside curveball. While the pitch had decent location, Byrd put a good swing on it and made his first at-bat one to remember. Although Brandon Crawford struck out to end the inning, the damage was already done as before the Pirates could even get a chance to hit, they were down 3-0; however, Pittsburgh did strike back with a run of their own. After striking out the first hitter he faced, Bumgarner allowed back-to-back singles from Starlin Marte and Andrew McCutchen. Managing to get Aramis Ramirez to pop up to second baseman Kelby Tomlinson, it seemed MadBum would slither his way out of the inning unscathed. Rookie standout Jung Ho Kang had other ideas as he knocked in Marte on an RBI single to left. Though Bumgarner worked his way out of the inning in relatively good condition, he was undoubtedly frustrated with himself for giving up the quick run.

This anger must have fueled his plate appearance as he hit yet another home run to score Gregor Blanco who reached base on a double. It's quite spectacular to watch a pitcher be so consistently dangerous as a batter, and even more spectacular to realize that pitchers still haven't figured him out. Nori Aoki and Brandon Belt managed to pick up the Giant's fifth and sixth hits of the contest, but the threat ultimately ended without supplying any additional runs. MadBum again struggled in the second slightly as he allowed a walk, single and HBP to load the bases with only one out. Marte got the job done for the Pirates with a fielder's choice that wound up scoring a run. A McCutchen ground ball to Crawford eventually retired the side, but it seemed the Pirates had a legitimate chance to claw their way back into the ball game.

In Marlon Byrd's second plate appearance he again showcased his value with a single to lead off the third. A ball pulled down the line by Crawford resulted in a double play and just like that the bases were cleared with two outs. An inning that had the early potential to result in more run support for Bumgarner came to a close with Jeff Locke striking out Tomlinson. Bouncing back from a couple of rough innings was crucial for Bumgarner as he completed a three up, three down inning in the third.

The Giants' trend of early run scoring continued in the fourth with another run added to their total. Blanco led off the inning with an infield single, but quick outs from Bumgarner and Aoki made it seem the pressure would subside. As usual, Matt Duffy provided a two out single to extend the inning and give Belt an opportunity for an RBI. Belt came through with a hard double to score Aoki and advance Duffy to third. Slumping Posey came to the plate with a chance to break through with a hit, but a ground out ended the inning. In his last seven games the MVP candidate has only managed a .154 batting average without a home run to his name. Luckily the rest of the offense has made up for his recent struggles, but with the presence of Byrd in the lineup, it's possible Posey will begin to see better pitches to hit. Beginning to settle in and regain his dominant stature, Bumgarner struck out the side in the bottom of the fourth by sending the last three hitters in the lineup promptly back to the dugout.

Again, a lead off hit from Byrd went to waste as his double in the fifth became irrelevant as Crawford lined out, Tomlinson grounded out and Blanco lined out. Although each had good at-bats, the end result wasn't what they were looking for. In the bottom half, Bumgarner put together his third straight inning in which he retired all three batters he faced. To this point MadBum has only given up 4 hits for 2 earned runs and looked like he had a chance to make another go at a complete game.

Jeff Locke was replaced by Joe Blanton to begin the sixth on the mound. After striking out Bumgarner, Aoki picked up his third hit of the night on a double to center. Following the Aoki were Duffy and Belt. Duffy struck out and Belt grounded out to strand the the Giants left fielder at second. Three plays made by Duffy at third made for another quick inning including a line drive that he leaped up to snag.

The Giants got the bases loaded for Bumgarner in the seventh from a pair of singles and an intentional walk. Blanton was able to keep Bumgarner in the park though with a ground ball to end the frame. Trouble arose in the seventh for the Giant's ace. His former teammate, Michael Morse, led off with a double followed by a single from Sean Rodriguez. The Pirates called upon last night's hero Neil Walker for a pinch hit at-bat. He continued his offensive production with a deep sacrifice fly to push the score to 6-3 in favor of the Giants. This marked the end of MadBum's night as Sergio Romo entered the game. Also pinch hitting in the seventh was Gregory Polanco who singled off of Romo. A double play provided by Marte was enough to silence the Bucs and keep Madison Bumgarner in line for the win.    

Antonio Bastardo entered the ball game to pitch in the eighth while Walker and Polanco stayed in the game at second and right respectively. Bastardo made quick work of the top of the Giant lineup with two K's and a ground out. To start the inning Romo commanded the mound, but after three hits from McCutchen, Ramirez and Morse to score the fourth run for the Pirates, Bruce Bochy called upon Josh Osich to face pinch hitter Pedro Alvarez. In six pitches he got Alvarez to ground out to work out of the inning.

No more insurance runs came for the Giants in the ninth as Arquimedes Caminero induced three ground balls. Both Juan Perez and Santiago Casilla entered the game in the ninth to hold the Pirates. Casilla walked the first batter he faced, but came through with a double play ball to clear the bases. The game ended on another ground out to Crawford at short stop. Casilla picked up his 30th save on the year and Bumgarner secured his 15th win of the campaign. Big performances by these two dominant pitchers along with offensive support from Byrd, Aoki, Blanco and Belt helped the Giants even the series at one game a piece. The two teams vying for playoff positions will square off again tomorrow at 1:05 PM Pacific. 

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About the author
Kyle Botermans
My name is Kyle Botermans and I'm a senior in High School in a small town in Southern Oregon. Eventually I plan to become an energy resource engineer, but in the mean time I want to explore my strengths in writing about the teams I love: the San Francisco Giants and 49ers.