This extra-innings thriller ended on a ... hit-by-pitch?

The Pirates’ 3-2 extra-inning victory over the Padres on Monday was full of quirks. Perhaps none were as rare as the final play, though, when the Padres made their final out on a hit-by-pitch. And then challenged that the pitch did NOT hit their left fielder Dustin Harris.

Huh?

You’d be hard pressed to find other instances of a game ending with the home team arguing that a pitch missed their batter, especially in a one-run deficit with baserunners paramount in the 12th inning, with the scorching-hot Fernando Tatis Jr. standing in the on-deck circle. But this wasn’t your typical hit-by-pitch.

Harris actually swung at the 1-2 sweeper from Pirates righty Yohan Ramírez, which dove across the plate and caught a piece of the lefty-swinging Harris’ back foot. Harris hopped in apparent pain, but he quickly realized that the ball got away from Pittsburgh catcher Rafael Flores Jr., and he darted toward first base.

The problem -- and the genesis of manager Craig Stammen’s challenge -- was that the ball became dead once it hit Harris’ foot. That made it a game-ending strikeout. If the ball simply bounced on the ground and skipped to the backstop, Harris might have been able to safely reach first because of an uncaught third strike.

The replay review did not take long, as it was obvious the pitch indeed hit Harris’ foot and the call was confirmed. But with the game on the line, it made sense for Stammen to give it a shot.

With the ruling, Ramírez added history that might make you scratch your head for a second. According to OptaSTATS, Ramírez’s save was the first in MLB since the stat became official in 1969 to include three strikeouts while the tying run was in scoring position in the 12th inning or later. There are a fair number of qualifiers there, but there have been more than 60,000 saves since 1969 in which that could have happened.

If you skim the box score, Monday’s game might not seem like anything particularly out of the ordinary. Two strong pitchers -- San Diego’s Robbie Ray and Pittsburgh’s Braxton Ashcraft -- delivered quality innings before Nick Gonzales had the go-ahead hit in the 12th.

But on top of the unusual final play, the teams combined to go 2-for-28 with runners in scoring position. The only run on Ashcraft’s ledger through six innings scored on a balk because he did not declare he would pitch from the windup with a runner on third base (the pitch was put in play and would have been an inning-ending groundout if not for the balk). And the Padres popped up bunts in both the 10th and 11th innings while trying to get the winning run to third base with just one out.

Despite the loss, the Padres maintained a two-game lead on the final NL Wild Card spot, thanks to the Diamondbacks’ loss to the Cubs. The Pirates -- 7 1/2 games back -- took a step forward with a win. And a wacky game overall served as a reminder of just how crazy this final month of the 2026 season might be.