PIRATES RALLY TO TIE GIANTS, WALK OFF ON HR

Jacob Stallings hit a twoout, two-run homer in the ninth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied past the San Francisco Giants 8-6 on Saturday night in Pittsburgh.

The catcher had a tworun double that capped fourrun comeback with two out in the seventh that made it 6-all.

“It was a crazy game,” Stallings said. “I think that was more pumped up than I usually get, more emotional than I usually get. It was just that kind of game.”

Adam Frazier singled to lead off the Pittsburgh ninth and was thrown out at the

Pirates 8, Giants 6

plate when he tried to score on Bryan Reynolds’ one-out double. Reynolds took third on the play, and trotted home when Stallings sent a drive into the left-field bleachers off Jake Mcgee (1-1).

Mcgee gave up a game-tying single to Reynolds that sent a 3-2 loss into extras Friday.

“I have confidence in everybody in our ’pen,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “That doesn’t mean it’s not a real challenge. In these situations, we’re trying to win baseball games. Sometimes you have to call on your best to try to win them.”

Stallings hit a wak-off solo shot in a 3-2 win against the Chicago Cubs in an empty PNC Park on Sept. 22 last season. On Saturday, he did it in front of a season-high Pirates crowd of 7,833.

“I guess I didn’t think about that, but maybe that added to the emotion,” Stallings said. “Hard to say, but I was definitely more pumped up this time. So maybe that went into it.”

Kevin Newman hit an RBI single and another run scored on a wild pitch as the Pirates rallied in the seventh.

Pirates closer Richard Rodriguez (2-0) allowed a two-out single to Brandon

Crawford in the ninth before getting Mauricio Dubon to pop out.

Pittsburgh has won four of seven games since losing eight of its previous nine.

Notable

The Rays traded righthanded relief pitcher Hunter Strickland to the Angels in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Strickland, 32, has appeared in 13 games for the Rays this season, registering a 1.69 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched.

The Rays also traded infielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugo to the Doders for a player to be named or cash.

The 29-year old Tsutsugo has struggled in the majors since coming over from Japan. He has a .187 batting average in two seasons, including .167 in 27 games with Tampa Bay this season. Tsutsugo also had no home runs and 27 strikeouts in 87 plate appearances.

• Two-time All-star catcher Jonathan Lucroy has found another job, this time signing a minor league deal with the Braves. The 34year-old Lucroy will give Atlanta depth with Travis d’arnaud out for a while after thumb surgery and Alex Jackson sidelined by a hamstring injury.