Giants 10, Pirates 0
PITTSBURGH - The San Francisco Giants are missing the top three hitters in their batting order, but it was hard to tell Thursday night.
Gregor Blanco and Buster Posey each had three hits and two RBIs, and Matt Cain combined with three relievers on a three-hit shutout as the Giants routed the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-0 at PNC Park to salvage the final game of a three-game series.
Joaquin Arias also had three of San Francisco's 17 hits, and Hunter Pence had two hits, including a three-run home run in a five-run sixth inning that put the game away. Nick Noonan also had a pair of hits.
The Giants made due without center fielder Angel Pagan and third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who are on the disabled list, and second baseman Marco Scutaro, who missed his second straight game with tendon damage in his lefty pinky.
Cain (5-3) pitched 6 2/3 innings and gave up two hits while walking two and striking out three. Cain is 5-1 in his last eight starts and has allowed two runs or fewer in six of those outings.
Javier Lopez, Jean Machi and Jeremy Affeldt finished the Giants' seventh shutout of the season. The Pirates were blanked for the sixth time.
Pittsburgh's Charlie Morton (0-1) was touched for four runs - two earned - and seven hits in his first major-league start since May 29, 2012. Morton underwent Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery last June 14 and walked one and struck out five in returning to a major-league mound 364 days following the operation.
Garrett Jones broke up Cain's no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the fifth inning.
San Francisco (34-31) won for just the fourth time in its last 14 road games, and Pittsburgh (39-27) lost for just the second time in six games overall. The Pirates also missed a chance to sweep a series from the Giants for the first time since 2008.
The Giants broke the game open with the big sixth inning against reliever Mike Zagurski. Blanco and Posey hit RBI singles before Pence hit his homer to make it 9-0.
The Giants added another run in the ninth on a throwing error by Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen.
The Giants struck quickly against Morton, scoring a run before he got an out. Blanco walked, Brandon Crawford was hit by a pitch and Posey hit an RBI single.
Blanco singled home a run in the second, and San Francisco made it 4-0 with two runs in an odd fifth inning.
Crawford got caught in a rundown between third base and home plate on a grounder by Pence, but Crawford scored when plate umpire Tim McClelland called third baseman Pedro Alvarez for obstruction. Andres Torres followed with a sacrifice fly, but the chance for a bigger inning ended when Pence made the third out as he was struck on the leg by Noonan's ground ball while running from second to third.
NOTES: Pittsburgh placed RHP A.J. Burnett on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right calf to open a spot on the 25-man roster for Morton. The Pirates released RHP Jose Contreras, who was on the disabled list with a lower back strain, to free up a 40-man roster spot. ... San Francisco made a flurry of roster moves, designating RHP Ramon Ramirez for assignment, recalling RHP Jake Dunning and C Hector Sanchez from Triple-A Fresno and optioning 1B Brett Pill to Fresno. ... Scutaro missed his second straight game with the tendon damage in his left pinky. He also is expected to sit out the three-game series at Atlanta that begins Friday night. ... Pirates LF Starling Marte was a late scratch because of a strained left ribcage, which he suffered Wednesday night while going 4-for-4 with four runs and two stolen bases in a 12-8 win over the Giants. Alex Presley took Marte's place in left field and as the leadoff hitter. ... Pagan ran Thursday for the first time since going on the disabled list May 28 with a strained right hamstring. The Giants are hopeful Pagan, their leadoff hitter, could be activated next week. ... Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner (5-4, 3.58) will face the Braves RHP Kris Medlen (3-6, 2.87) on Friday night. ... The Pirates open a three-game home series with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, with LHP Jeff Locke (5-1, 2.39) opposing RHP Stephen Fife (1-1, 3.78).
