Lowe leads Bucs to walk-off win after rookie Valdez exits with left wrist injury

PITTSBURGH -- The implications don’t get much higher for a game in late July.

The Pirates entered the series with the Diamondbacks one game behind Arizona in the National League Wild Card standings.

Pirates rookie Esmerlyn Valdez was hit in the left wrist by a pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning, exiting the game with training staff on Monday at PNC Park. Without one of its top bats, Pittsburgh battled back from down two runs and walked it off in the 10th for a 3-2 win over the D-backs.

Concern remains with Valdez as he continues to be evaluated by the medical staff. Though the Pirates took care of business to win the series opener, with Mason Montgomery escaping a 10th-inning jam and Brandon Lowe ripping a single past first for the game-winner.

The 91 mph fastball from Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly left Valdez in plenty of pain. He’s been nothing short of a star since debuting with Pittsburgh on May 22, blasting 14 home runs in 38 games. He’s the latest Pirates position player to suffer an injury, as Spencer Horwitz, Endy Rodríguez, Oneil Cruz and Konnor Griffin have all had recent stints on the injured list. Rodríguez returned from injury on Monday, and Horwitz is expected to return shortly.

Amid a pitchers' duel, Kelly was in command for most of the game until hitting Valdez. He held the Pirates down through five innings to match Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller. Then, Keller eventually cracked.

The Diamondbacks loaded the bases in the top of the sixth and scored on a two-run double by Max Kepler to take the first lead of the game. As Kelly’s pitch count grew, the Pirates scraped a run across in the bottom half of the inning with Lowe scoring Jake Mangum on an infield single.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen held the deficit at one long enough for its offense to climb back. In the bottom of the eighth, Lowe reached on a two-out double to put the tying run two bases away. Bryan Reynolds, who has hit under .230 in July, was called for two check-swing calls by third-base umpire Ben May.

Pirates manager Don Kelly had enough and was ejected from the game by May after arguing the calls. A few pitches later, Reynolds tied the game with a double.

Both offenses stalled in the ninth. Billy Cook began the 10th inning on second base and moved to third on a single, setting up Lowe's walk-off single, which moved the Pirates (55-52) into a tie with the D-backs (55-52) for the final NL Wild Card spot.