DETROIT — As much respect as the Pirates have for Justin Verlander, treating Saturday with considerable reverence, they're also competitors. Plus, they had their own guy in Kirby Yates toeing a Major League rubber for the final time.
The script was set. Drama was palpable, and emotions ran high, especially when Yates and Verlander exited a game for the final time, tears flowing from all corners of Comerica Park.
"It kind of felt like you were living part of a movie scene," Brandon Lowe said.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, there was a plot twist nobody wanted at the end. Seemingly headed for the franchise's first winning season since 2018, Mason Montgomery hung a curveball to Eduardo Valencia, and the Tigers walked off the Pirates, 4-3.
Now, the Pirates need a win on the final day of the season to finish 82-80 after they let this one slip away, Montgomery enduring the type of hiccup he’s avoided since late July.
“We just need to go out there and understand it’s baseball as usual and play a clean game,” Lowe said. "If we do the things we’re supposed to and play the way we’re supposed to play, we should be in a good position."
Montgomery has been the best reliever in baseball since the start of July and hadn’t allowed a run since July 26. Saturday snapped a stretch of 25 consecutive scoreless appearances, which was tied with Milwaukee’s Abner Uribe for MLB’s longest this season.
During that time, Montgomery struck out 37 and allowed just nine hits in 24 2/3 innings.
Yates confirms obvious
When Yates struck out catcher Dillon Dingler on a splitter in the second inning, Pirates manager Don Kelly walked to the mound to get the ball from the 39-year-old reliever.
Teammates stepped in and offered hugs. Yates doffed his cap and pointed to his family in the stands and later confirmed what everyone around the team has suspected: Yes, he's retiring.
“It's just time,” Yates said. “I’ve given this game everything I have. In return, it's given me more than I can ever thank it for or imagine."
Yates pitched well — as he has for most of his time as a Pirate. He worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings and dropped his ERA to 1.80 in 15 games with Pittsburgh.
After the game, Yates discussed his unlikely story from getting drafted in 26th round in 2005 to signing as an undrafted player four years later, to injuries and performance dips he’s overcome in 12 seasons.
Perhaps most interesting, Yates said he didn’t want to get traded this year at the deadline. He knew this was it and had sort of lost his love of the game. That re-appeared when he joined the Pirates and found a snug fit in Pittsburgh.
“I was kind of ready to be done prior to the trade deadline, and it just kind of jolted something in me, competing for something again and going out there and trying to win,” Yates said. “It brought the joy back in baseball for me. It made me excited to come to the field again and kind of gave me the feelings … the reason why we do this and why I’ve loved playing this game for so long.”
Pirates players have adored Yates, which was obvious when he excited the game. While Verlander had his moment in the sun for the Tigers, similar emotions were certainly felt on the Pirates side.
“I told [Don Kelly], ‘That’s the dream right there. You walk off the field after a high moment and end your career on your terms,’ ” Lowe said. “[Yates] has been awesome. He hasn’t been here long, but he fit in great and has been great for everybody in the clubhouse.”
Verlander's day
The Pirates were in good position for much of this one, despite 41,377 revved-up Tigers fans and a fantastic atmosphere designed to pay tribute to Verlander, a three-time Cy Young Award winner who hadn't pitched in a Major League game since March.
Following a Lowe pop out in the sixth, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch emerged from the home dugout and signaled to Verlander's family.
That's when Verlander's daughter, Genevieve, ran out to the mound to make the change herself, leaving the three-time Cy Young Award winner in tears. Comerica Park erupted, as Verlander made his rounds, walking off the mound holding his daughter’s hand in a picture-perfect baseball moment.
"They nailed it," Lowe said. "I don't care how tough you are. Your daughter comes out there to take you out of the game after 20 years ... I was impressed at how well he held it together. I think everybody in the ballpark probably got a little emotional with it."
Sidelined this season with left hamstring and hip issues, Verlander surpassed the wildest expectations, working 5 1/3 innings and allowing two runs while striking out six. You could hardly tell he hadn't pitched in months.
Game flow
Lowe’s outstanding season continued with his 35th homer of 2026 in the fourth inning, the blast giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead. Lowe got a first-pitch fastball up from Verlander and cranked it 416 feet at 104 mph into the right-field seats.
It was also Lowe’s 65th extra-base hit this season, the third-most for a Pirates middle infield all-time behind Honus Wagner’s 68 in 1908 and George Grantham’s 66 in 1930.
The Pirates added to their lead in the fifth thanks to another solo homer, this time Jacob Gonzalez’s first since Aug. 13.
Javy Baez stroked a double in the sixth off Evan Sisk before Bryan Reynolds made it a 3-1 game with his triple in the eighth. Kevin McGonigle’s RBI groundout in the ninth set up Valencia’s walkoff.
Around the horn
Oneil Cruz exited in the third inning following an awkward diving/sliding attempt on a ball hit by McGonigle in the first. Cruz’s knee tightened up on him, Kelly said. But the move was more precautionary than anything.
The starting pitching matchup totaled out at 83 years, 38 days. It represents the oldest in MLB since Jamie Moyer and Chris Capuano (83 years, 76 days) on May 11, 2012. It’s the oldest starting pitching tandem in a Pirates game since 1901.
Konnor Griffin, who singled in the second, was not alive when Verlander made his MLB debut on July 4, 2005. According to MLB researcher Sarah Langs, Griffin became the first batter to face a pitcher who debuted before he was born since Bryce Harper hit off Miguel Batista on June 6, 2012.
Yohan Ramirez reached 100 strikeouts for the first time when he fanned Spencer Torkelson to end the second inning. He now has 102 on the season, which more than doubles his previous career-high.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.