Stallings' bat sparks 2nd straight walk-off win

PITTSBURGH -- It was another day, another walk-off in Pittsburgh. But this time, Pirates manager Derek Shelton had a different view of it.

Shelton was ejected from the Pirates’ 8-6 win over the Giants on Saturday at PNC Park in the eighth inning for arguing balls and strikes, so he had to stick to keeping up with the game from a feed inside the clubhouse.

“Everything is delayed, so the security guys had it first,” Shelton said.

What they heard, then later saw, was Pittsburgh completing a rally back from four runs down with a two-run homer from Jacob Stallings in the ninth inning.

To execute the comeback, the Pirates had to rely on their offense. They entered the game having scored more than three runs in only two of their past 12 games. However, those two contests have come in the past week, as an in-flux lineup has been able to settle in and string together hits.

None more so than Saturday night, though. The Pirates recorded a season-high 15 hits against former division nemesis Johnny Cueto and a Giants bullpen that shut the bats down in the series opener. And the 15th hit came from a regular who is finding his stride and his swing.

Stallings, who had three hits on the night, also had three hits on April 13. Then, he went six games without a hit, going 0-for-18. He and hitting coach Rick Eckstein had a talk in the next series in Minnesota, and since his day off on April 24, he’s hit .292 with five doubles and three home runs in 15 games.

A lot of the conversation was about the mental side of his game, but there was a slight mechanical adjustment they made on his back side, as he says he has a heavy sink in his load.

“We made one small adjustment that I haven’t done before -- just with my back foot,” Stallings said. “I feel like that’s helped me a lot since that day. It’s just positioning and doing what I can to get ready, in the best position and on time.”

Stallings was perfectly on time -- both in his swing and the game -- when he launched his walk-off homer off Giants reliever Jake McGee. The ball carried a Statcast-projected 400 feet, marking only the sixth time Stallings has driven a ball that far for a home run.

“I think he’s trying to do damage,” Shelton said. “He’s trying to impact the baseball on every swing, and I think we’re seeing the results of it.”

Starter Tyler Anderson struggled with his command early and gave up two first-inning home runs.

Anderson said he had to balance trying to gain feel for his pitches and giving himself the best chance to succeed. Stallings’ performance was crucial in setting up the Pirates to come back from behind for the walk-off win.

“Stalls is the man,” Anderson said. “He's somebody who you know is always prepared, always working, always ready whenever his opportunity comes up.

“Just a great day. I'm really pumped for Stalls and for everybody. That's a good win all the way around.”

At the Minor League level, the Low-A Bradenton Marauders completed their first nine-inning no-hitter in franchise history.

Minor note

Jose Maldonado started the effort, striking out four batters in two innings to give way to Cameron Junker. The right-hander earned the win in the historic feat by tossing three innings with four strikeouts.

Brennan Malone, the Pirates’ No. 8 prospect, made his season debut, pitching one inning in relief. General manager Ben Cherington said earlier this week Malone had been set back by a blister.

The save in the no-hitter went to Wandi Montout, who scuffled a bit to get the final out. He walked two batters, then completed his three innings with a strikeout, looking to finish the feat.

Shelton started his postgame press conference by congratulating the Marauders.

“That’s why I wanted to leave early, so I could check the box score,” Shelton joked. “That’s really cool. Any time you do that, that’s awesome.”