Pirates beat Giants behind Bautista's grand slam

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Jim Tracy finally watched his young Pittsburgh team succeed at things on the road the Pirates have been trying to do for months.

They took a lead, lost it, then found themselves on top again.

Jose Bautista hit his first career grand slam in the eighth inning, rallying the Pirates past the San Francisco Giants 7-5 on Sunday for their third straight victory.

"That's a great come-from-behind win," said Tracy, in his first season as Pittsburgh skipper. "It obviously identifies a number of things we were trying to accomplish on the road trip -- No. 1, having a winning road trip."

Bautista sent a 1-1 pitch from Tim Worrell into the seats in left-center for his sixth home run of the year, Craig Wilson added a sacrifice fly, and the Pirates won three in a row on the road for the first time this season. The Pirates went 4-3 on their trip and have a three-game winning streak for the second time in 2006 after getting four straight victories from May 29-June 1.

"I knew it was going to go," Bautista said. "Not a bad time at all. It's big because we hadn't won a series on the road."

Ray Durham homered and later tripled to start San Francisco's three-run sixth, but the Giants' bullpen couldn't hold a three-run lead as the teams concluded their four-game series on a chilly Bay Area afternoon.

Moises Alou homered on his bobblehead day, Randy Winn hit an RBI double, and Pedro Feliz followed Durham's triple in the sixth with a run-scoring single that tied the game.

Giants ace Jason Schmidt, coming off his 16-strikeout performance Tuesday against the Florida Marlins, had his three-start winning streak snapped with a no-decision. He still has won his last six decisions.

Worrell (2-2) entered after Jeremy Accardo loaded the bases.

Matt Capps (2-1) pitched the seventh for the victory, the Pirates' eighth in their last 10 games in San Francisco. Mike Gonzalez got the last three outs for his 11th save in 11 chances.

"Winning a game like that can turn things around," Gonzalez said. "I think our team is turning around."

Durham led off the second by sending the first pitch from Pirates starter Paul Maholm over the left-field fence for his fifth homer of the year. Alou connected leading off the seventh, his ninth homer, but the Giants didn't score enough runs on a day slugger Barry Bonds missed his fifth straight game with soreness in his left side. The 41-year-old Bonds is expected to be ready to return Tuesday at Arizona.

"When you don't play well, it makes the other team look better, and we haven't been playing well at home," Moises Alou said. "Hopefully it'll get better Tuesday when we get Barry back."

The Giants loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but Eliezer Alfonzo grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Maholm, making his first career appearance against San Francisco, saw his winless stretch reach five starts dating to a victory against the Cincinnati Reds on May 16 -- three straight no-decisions and consecutive losses. He is 0-4 on the road this year.

Jason Bay singled to center to start the fourth, extending his hitting streak to 10 games.

Last week, Schmidt matched a 102-year-old franchise record for strikeouts set by Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson on Oct. 3, 1904, against the Cardinals. He wasn't nearly the same pitcher Sunday.

"The location wasn't very good," Schmidt said. "I had trouble keeping the ball down. It was one of those days where nothing went right. Any time you don't win, it's disappointing."

He loaded the bases with none out in the fourth. Bay and Jeromy Burnitz reached, advancing on a wild pitch before Freddy Sanchez walked. Jose Castillo grounded into a double play to bring home an unearned run to tie the game, then Alou made a sensational diving catch across the left-field line on a drive by Maholm two batters later.

Alou received a long standing ovation after the play, then another when he led off the bottom of the fourth.

Burnitz left the game in the middle of the fourth with tightness in his left calf.

Game notes
Bautista also doubled. ... The temperature read 62 degrees at first pitch. ... Schmidt went 20 innings dating to Aug. 9, 2002, without allowing a run to Pittsburgh. ... Pirates 3B Joe Randa, on the 15-day DL with a right foot contusion, was set to begin a rehabilitation outing with Triple-A Indianapolis. ... Giants RF Jason Ellison earned his fourth start in 11 games and fifth overall. ... Lance Niekro struck out in his first two at-bats and aggravated his groin before being lifted for pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney, who took over at 1B for San Francisco. "There's a possibility that the DL is going to be mentioned," Giants manager Felipe Alou said. ... Alou's solo shot marked the 24th time a player has homered on his bobblehead day.