McGonigle's 405-foot moonshot helps Tigers snap 3-game skid

PITTSBURGH -- Kevin McGonigle returned to his home state and slugged a two-run homer, and Brett Callahan had his second two-RBI hit in as many days in the Majors, helping the Tigers build an early lead that eventually held up for an 8-5 win over the Pirates on Monday night at PNC Park.

The win brought the Tigers back even with the Orioles, who lost Monday at Tampa Bay, and idle Texas for the third and final AL Wild Card spot, with three other teams within a game.

McGonigle, with his parents having made the trip from Philadelphia, nearly deposited Carmen Mlodzinski’s hanging cutter into the Allegheny River. The Statcast-projected 405-foot drive landed near the back of the concourse beyond right-center field, stretching the Tigers’ lead to 4-0 in the second inning.

Detroit’s lead grew to 8-1 once Callahan, who debuted on Sunday with a two-run triple on his first Major League pitch, followed Hao-Yu Lee’s bases-loaded walk in the sixth with a line drive to center, scoring Colt Keith and Zack McKinstry. With Framber Valdez cruising through five innings with a lone run allowed (unearned), the Tigers seemed poised for a relatively low-stress ending to their three-game losing streak.

Twice, Valdez was a strike away from escaping the sixth unscathed, but back-to-back two-out walks to Rafael Flores Jr. and Jake Mangum extended the inning for Nick Yorke’s bases-clearing double and a revitalized game.

The Pirates brought the potential tying run to the plate in the seventh after a Javier Báez error and a Kyle Finnegan walk issued to Nick Gonzales, but lefty Drew Sommers retired all five batters he faced. Three came on strikeouts, another on a standout play from first baseman Spencer Torkelson and Sommers covering first.

Kenley Jansen pitched the bottom of the ninth for his 16th save of the year and 492nd of his career.