PITTSBURGH — The only thing as consistent as blown leads this week at PNC Park has been Matt Chapman’s power swing. Both came through again Thursday afternoon to make the Giants’ highly anticipated showdown with Paul Skenes a distant memory by the time they jetted off to New York riding the high of back-to-back comeback wins, taking their third road series of the season in improbable fashion. A three-run blast from Chapman into the shrubbery beyond center field — his third homer in as many games — ignited the Giants’ eighth-inning rally that resulted in five runs, with the knockout blow coming from Brett Wisely, who delivered a two-out single off Aroldis Chapman to drive home the go-ahead run.
The Giants prevailed, 7-6, despite trailing by four after the sixth inning, when the Pirates’ 21-year-old flame-throwing sensation departed the game. Mounting a five-run comeback the previous night, the Giants overcame deficits of at least four runs in consecutive games for the first time since April 26 and 27, 1998. A grand slam from Joey Bart put the Giants in a four-run hole when they saw the last of Skenes’ triple-digit heaters after the sixth inning.
It looked like the ultimate revenge for the forsaken former No. 2 overall pick, who was designated for assignment and shipped to Pittsburgh a week into the season, but the Giants got the last laugh. Chapman’s home run was the third in as many games for the third baseman, who went 5-for-14 over the course of the three-.