SF Giants' Eldridge hits first career home run in blowout loss to Pirates

SAN FRANCISCO - Bryce Eldridge's first career home run, a towering solo shot that landed in McCovey Cove on a hop, was just about all that went right on Saturday night at Oracle Park as the San Francisco Giants were blown out 13-3 by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 13 runs and 20 hits that the Giants' pitching staff allowed were both the most they've surrendered in a single game this year. Three of those runs and five of those hits were allowed by position player Christian Koss, who pitched the ninth inning and allowed a run for the first time in his career.

Koss, getting just his 14th plate appearance of the season, was drilled in the left shoulder area in the bottom of the ninth by Pittsburgh's Cam Sanders and removed from the ballgame. Logan Porter, called up after the Giants traded Patrick Bailey, entered as a pinch runner.

Eldridge, the Giants' best position player prospect since Buster Posey, had been quiet at the plate since being called up on Monday along with catcher Jesús Rodríguez, going 1-for-9 with a walk and four strikeouts in his first three games. In the fifth, Eldridge unfurled his first truly impactful swing of the season.

The Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft started his second matchup against Eldridge with a 96.2 mph four-seam fastball. Ashcraft's heater was a good pitch given Eldridge's long arms, but the 6-foot-7 first baseman turned on the pitch and sent a towering 364-foot drive over the right-field fence.

The ball appeared to land on the boardwalk outside the stadium before plopping into McCovey Cove. Given Eldridge's strength, it's only a matter of time before he sends a homer into the water on the fly.

Aside from Eldridge's milestone homer, there really wasn't anything else that went right from San Francisco.

Right-hander Landen Roupp, who's arguably been the Giants' best starter this season, allowed one run over four-plus innings of work, his shortest outing of the season.

The Giants only committed one error when shortstop Willy Adames flubbed a routine grounder, but there were several instances of sloppy defense on San Francisco's end. After the Pirates put up six runs in the seventh inning, the frame where Adames committed the error, cameras caught Adames slamming his glove in the dugout.

San Francisco nearly went four straight games without a walk until they drew three in the ninth with the game well out of hand.

Trailing by nine runs in the top of the ninth, manager Tony Vitello sent out seldom-used Koss for his sixth career pitching appearance. Koss hadn't allowed a run in his first five appearances but surrendered threein the top of the ninth.

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This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 1:05 AM.