Pirates avoid accidental intentional walk

SAN FRANCISCO — The intentional walk was on, then off, except it was never really on in the first place.

The Pirates’ 4-3 win over the Giants on Tuesday night at AT&T Park ended in unusual fashion, as catcher Francisco Cervelli mistakenly called for an intentional walk with runners on second and third and one out, only for pitching coach Ray Searage to rush to the mound and call it off. Two pitches later, closer Tony Watson defused the jam and sealed Pittsburgh’s third straight win.

“That happened real fast,” Watson said.

But the question immediately after the game was: What, exactly, did happen?

With one out in the ninth, Jordy Mercer misplayed pinch-hitter Trevor Brown’s ground ball. Joe Panik, the next batter, laced a double down the left-field line, sending pinch-runner Gregor Blanco to third base. All of a sudden, Watson was in his first true jam since taking over as Pittsburgh’s closer.

“A base hit and the game is over,” Watson said. “It’s definitely different.”

In this case, it also got a little confusing.

The …

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