PITTSBURGH – With a nine-game road trip against three teams ahead of them in the NL standings looming, the Pirates needed a strong finish to the homestand. Trailing by one in the bottom of the ninth, Pittsburgh was tasked with scoring off Tigers closer Kenley Jansen, who ranks third all-time in saves with 492.
After Jansen struck out Jake Mangum to start the inning, Rafael Flores Jr. came to the plate. Already homering off the bench earlier in the game, he blasted another solo shot way out in left field to tie the game. Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Flores Jr. is the first Pirates player since at least 1900 with multiple home runs in a game he did not start.
Then with two outs, Brandon Lowe came to the plate. The veteran second baseman blasted a solo shot into the right field seats for a 4-3 walk-off win and second consecutive series win.
Jackson Jobe outdueled Paul Skenes through 5 1/3 innings as the Tigers built a 3-1 lead with station-to-station baseball on Skenes as he was searching for command. Pittsburgh rallied back into the game with Flores Jr.’s first solo shot in the seventh.
The Pirates' top bullpen arms, including Camilo Doval, Luke Weaver and Mason Montgomery, all held the deficit at one as Montgomery's scoreless streak is now at eight innings, dating back to July 27. He's allowed no runs in 5 1/3 innings in August with a 22.9 K/9 (13 strikeouts).