SAN FRANCISCO -- Gerrit Cole worked six effective innings Monday night while the Pittsburgh Pirates put together big offensive outbursts early and late to emerge with their 10th victory in 13 games, a 10-3 decision over the San Francisco Giants.
"Everyone's showing up. Everyone's ready to go. Everyone's ready to win," said Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen. "That's been the feeling here for quite some time now. Hopefully we can just continue that."
Cole (8-7), who's 4-1 lifetime against the Giants, allowed two runs and six hits in six innings. He basked in the comfort of a 6-0 lead through two innings that was furnished mainly by McCutchen, who drove in a first-inning run with a groundout before adding a three-run homer in the second inning.

"He did keep the ball down all night extremely well," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said of Cole. "He mixed his pitches well. The fastball was fresh with velocity. He was able to move it around the zone. … It was a tough zone. They lost two people on their side being thrown out of the game. And a number of people -- it was tough figuring out."
Buster Posey's RBI singles in the fifth and seventh innings helped San Francisco trim the difference to 6-3 before a four-run eighth inning, fueled by Jordy Mercer's three-run homer, sealed Pittsburgh's seventh consecutive victory at AT&T Park. After his three-hit night, Mercer is now batting .313 (61-for-195) in his last 53 games with 12 doubles, four triples, eight homers and 32 RBIs.

"You get six runs down against a guy like Cole, that's a big uphill climb," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "But the guys we're trying, I'll say that. That last rally they had killed us."
Giants starter Player Page for Matt Cain lasted four innings, surrendering six runs (two earned). Cain's now lost eight consecutive decisions, matching a career high between the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
"We knew that there wasn't too much that he could throw by us," McCutchen said. "So we were just trying to be selective every at-bat."
• Cutch, Mercer lead Pirates' offense vs. Giants
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
He who hesitates ...: After leaving the bases loaded in the fourth inning, the Giants threatened again in the fifth as they had runners on the corners with one out and Posey batting. Posey drilled a single to left-center field, where McCutchen neatly trapped the ball -- though he brandished it as if he caught it to try to fool an umpire. The only individual fooled was Brandon Belt, who tentatively crept to second base. Belt broke hard for third but did so too late and was thrown out.

"It's just being pretty wise and playing the game long enough to where you think about a lot of things very quickly," McCutchen said. "I was able to think of something and be able to deke him for the most part. It turned out good."
• Nunez's error, Belt's baserunning hurt cause
Critical mistake: Cain appeared bound for a scoreless second inning before third baseman Eduardo Nunez misplayed Starling Marte's potential inning-ending groundout into an error. Instead of being back in the dugout, Cain had to face All-Star Josh Harrison, whose RBI single prolonged the inning before McCutchen's big drive.

QUOTABLE
"Our guys have shown an ability this year to score late. But it's the maturity of the club, the skillset, the confidence, I think all of it plays in a little bit." -- Hurdle, on his team continuing to press for runs
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
With Monday's win, Pittsburgh has emerged victorious at AT&T Park in seven consecutive games, matching the franchise's longest winning streak in San Francisco from June 9, 2006, until Sept. 5, 2008. The Pirates have also won nine of their last 10 in China Basin.
YOU'RE OUT OF HERE
Bochy wasn't around for most of this one. Unhappy with plate umpire Chris Conroy's strike zone, Bochy was ejected for arguing after McCutchen's homer. Cain's 1-0 pitch to McCutchen, which Conroy called a ball, fried Bochy.

"I think there was some frustration, really, all night," Bochy said. "I don't think he [Conroy] had a real good night, to be honest, as far as consistency. But that really had nothing to do with what happened tonight. We gave up three-run homers."
Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti waited until the ninth inning to get tossed for arguing balls and strikes. It was Righetti's first ejection since 2007.

WHAT'S NEXT
Pirates:Jameson Taillon takes the mound for Tuesday's 10:15 p.m. ET contest in San Francisco. The righty threw a career-high 116 pitches last time out when he spun 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball against the Brewers.
Giants:Madison Bumgarner again will seek his first victory of the season in the series' second game, slated to begin at 7:15 p.m. PT on Tuesday. The Giants have scored just 10 runs for Bumgarner in his six starts.
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