Pirates use six relievers to two-hit the Giants in a 5-2 victory

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Six relievers combined on a two-hitter to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday afternoon.

Rookie Khristian Curtis (1-0) earned the victory by working three-plus innings. The 24-year-old right-hander gave up the first two runs of his career in the seventh after 11 straight scoreless innings. Yohan Ramirez came on to limit the damage. Mason Montgomery worked the ninth for his 8th save.

The Pirates managed just five hits of their own but took advantage of some early control issues by San Francisco's Blade Tidwell (0-2) to win for the sixth time in their last nine games.

Oneil Cruz walked three times, including a first-inning bases-loaded free pass from Tidwell that drove in a run. Jake Mangum reached base four times and drove in a run when Tidwell hit him with a pitch in the first immediately following Cruz's at-bat.

Nick Gonzales' seventh-inning single pushed his season hit total to 153, the most by a Pirates right-handed hitter since Starling Marte’s 159 in 2019.

The Pirates have won five of their last six series to remain on the very fringe of the National League wild card race with just over three weeks to go in the season. The club expects rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin to return from a two-month absence due to a left ring finger issue on Friday.

Tidwell showed some nerves in his second career start. He needed 40 pitches to get through the first inning. He settled down after that, surrendering two runs in five innings, with five walks and five strikeouts.

Jung Hoo Lee had a pinch-hit RBI double for the Giants. Drew Gilbert had San Francisco's other hit.

Giants: travel to New York for a three-game set with the Mets starting Friday.

Pirates: host the Los Angeles Angels this weekend. Ryan Johnson (3-7, 5.47 ERA) starts for the Angels in the opener against Pittsburgh's Jared Jones (2-6, 4.83).

See AP’s full MLB coverage here