Andrew McCutchen’s go-ahead home run in the seventh helped the Pittsburgh Pirates overcome a short outing from Mitch Keller to defeat the San Francisco Giants 6-5 on Monday night at Oracle Park.

How We Got There

In the top of the first, Nick Gonzales hit a solo home run off Carson Whisenhunt, who was making his MLB debut.

The Giants (54-53) evened the score on Matt Chapman’s RBI single in the home-half of the inning, but the Pirates (45-62) quickly reclaimed the lead. Isiah Kiner-Falefa plated a pair with a double and was followed by a Tommy Pham RBI single.

San Francisco struck for two more against Keller in the second and tied the game 4-all in the fourth against Génesis Cabrera.

David Bednar allowed a run in the ninth but closed out the win and is now 17 for 17 in save opportunities. Bednar retired the final two batters he faced with two runners on.

Key Moment

Andrew McCutchen’s blast off Carson Seymour lifted the Pirates to their sixth win in their last seven games.

Leave it to Cutch 💣 pic.twitter.com/SwYtARyQ6t

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 29, 2025

Star of the Game

Nick Gonzales finished the game 2 for 5 with a home run.

Stat to Know

Andrew McCutchen became the 11th player in MLB history to hit 10-plus home runs in each of his first 17 seasons. The others: Hank Aaron, Eddie Murray, Carl Yastrzemski, Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, Frank Robinson, Harold Baines, Mickey Mantle, Jeff Kent and Willie McCovey.

Notable Performances

Mitch Keller: 2.0 innings, five hits, three runs, three walks, three strikeouts, 73 pitches/42 strikes
Nick Gonzales: 2 for 5, one home run, one RBI, one run, one walk
Andrew McCutchen: 1 for 5, one home run, two RBI, one run
Tommy Pham: 2 for 4, one RBI, one run, one walk

Noteworthy

This was Mitch Keller’s shortest start since lasting two innings against the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 16, 2022. He exited that game with right shoulder fatigue.
Entering play, Pirates’ pitching had not been charged with an earned run over the last 31 innings.
Nick Gonzales’ home run was his first since July 8 against the Kansas City Royals.
Liover Peguero started at first base for the Pirates. It was his first time playing the position in the big leagues.

Up Next

LHP Bailey Falter (7-5, 3.82 ERA) starts for the Pirates in the second game of the series on Tuesday night. RHP Justin Verlander (1-8, 4.70 ERA) goes for the Giants. First pitch: 9:45 p.m. ET.