PITTSBURGH – Friday was Fireworks Night at PNC Park, and, in a sense, there were three separate shows.
The grand finale came when the fans were greeted with a display of pyrotechnics following the Pirates' 11-9 loss to the Phillies in 10 innings in the opener of a three-game series.
The first fireworks came in the third inning when the Pirates scored six runs to break a scoreless tie. Oneil Cruz opened the scoring with a two-run single, and Brandon Lowe and Marcell Ozuna followed with two-run home runs.
The Phillies provided the next fireworks display, scoring three runs off Gregory Soto in the ninth inning to tie the score at 8 and adding three more in the 10th off of Dennis Santana to rally for the victory.
Soto failed to convert a save for the second time in six opportunities as he couldn’t hold an 8-5 lead in the ninth inning. The left-hander entered Friday with a 1.69 ERA in 21 games.
“He has been really good this year for us,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “It was a tough inning. Just looked at times [like he] lost the plate with a couple walks, but he’s been really good for us.”
Santana, who has been working in tandem with Soto in the closer’s role, wasn’t any better. Santana gave up hits to each of the four batters he faced, and his ERA rose to 4.42. The Pirates’ bullpen has struggled since the calendar turned to May, posting a 5.90 ERA this month.
“There's going to be opportunity to close, and I think at times, they both have done a really good job,” Kelly said. “We know that the guys are going to continue to work through the month to go out and continue to do what we've seen them do in the past. I think that's the biggest thing, finding a way to have that confidence when you go out there, individually and collectively.”
Lowe also hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to put the Pirates ahead 7-3. Acquired from the Rays in an offseason trade, Lowe leads the Pirates with 12 home runs and has three two-homer games.
“He’s been swinging the bat really well,” Kelly said. "He continues to really impact the ball.”
Braxton Ashcraft started and was in line for the win, allowing four runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings while striking out five, walking none and throwing a career-high 100 pitches.
Ashcraft was happy with the pitch count but disappointed in the game’s outcome.
“That’s a big deal in terms of going deep into games, and we’ve done a really good job, just in the training room, weight room, just everywhere, just to where I can continue to go out and throw deep into games and get the pitch count up and do that consistently,” Ashcraft said. “Yeah, there’s a lot of pride in that, but winning ballgames is the biggest priority.
"And giving us a chance to win is the biggest priority, and again, baseball happens, baseball, it’s a tough game to play. There’s ups and downs, there’s ebbs and flows, and we’ll just come in tomorrow, and we’ll be in a good spot.”