The stakes heading into the series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Arizona Diamondbacks could not have been much higher for a series in late July. The Pirates entered the weekend trailing Arizona by just one game for the final National League Wild Card spot, and a series victory would not only vault them back into postseason position, but it would also secure the season tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks. With so much on the line, it was billed as the biggest Pirates series in more than 11 years.
Game 1 certainly lived up to the hype. Mitch Keller turned in one of his better outings of the season, tossing five efficient scoreless innings before finally running into trouble in the sixth. With the bases loaded and one out, Don Kelly came out to the mound seemingly ready to make a pitching change, but Keller convinced his manager to let him finish the inning himself. Unfortunately, that decision did not pay off. Max Kepler lined a two-run single down the right field line to give Arizona a 2-0 lead.
Yohan Ramirez quietly became one of the heroes of the opener. He entered with traffic on the bases, escaped Keller's jam without allowing another run, and followed it up with a scoreless seventh inning to keep Pittsburgh within striking distance.
The Pirates finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a little Mangum Mayhem. Jake Mangum singled with one out and advanced all the way to third when Merrill Kelly threw wildly on a pickoff attempt. Brandon Lowe cashed him in with an infield single to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Lowe wasn't finished just yet. With two outs in the eighth, he lined a double the opposite way to put the tying run in scoring position. Bryan Reynolds then battled through a lengthy at bat before ripping a 3-2 pitch into right-center field for a game-tying RBI double that brought PNC Park to life.
From there, the bullpen did everything the Pirates could have asked for. Ron Marinaccio, Gregory Soto, and Mason Montgomery combined to keep Arizona off the scoreboard and give Pittsburgh a chance to steal the opener. Montgomery's work in the tenth inning was especially impressive. After a Nick Gonzales error put runners on second and third with one out, Montgomery struck out Gabriel Moreno following an at bat that stretched beyond ten pitches before getting Kepler to line out to center to preserve the tie.
That opened the door for a walk-off opportunity. Endy Rodriguez immediately singled to right to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Mangum was unable to bring the winning run home, but Brandon Lowe stepped to the plate with another chance to play hero. He lined a ball off the glove of the first baseman, allowing Billy Cook to race home with the winning run as the Pirates walked off the Diamondbacks to take Game 1.
If the opener lived up to the hype, Game 2 somehow exceeded it. A rough outing from Bubba Chandler, combined with what felt like every Arizona ball finding grass, left the Pirates trailing 6-0 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. The offense had done virtually nothing all night, and it felt like the only thing left to do was get the final four outs and move on to a decisive Game 3.
The Pirates offense had other ideas. Bryan Reynolds reached base before Ryan O'Hearn doubled home the Pirates' first run of the night. Nick Gonzales, Endy Rodriguez, and Marcell Ozuna followed with RBI singles to suddenly make it a 6-3 game. The rally finally ended there, but the Battlin' Bucs were just getting started.
Jake Mangum led off the ninth with a double against Arizona closer Paul Sewald, setting the stage for one of the wildest moments PNC Park has seen in over a decade. Brandon Lowe crushed his 22nd home run of the season to make it a one-run game and send the crowd into a frenzy. Before fans even had time to settle back into their seats, Bryan Reynolds launched another homer to tie the game at 6. Down six runs entering the eighth inning, the Pirates had erased the deficit while recording just one out. The atmosphere at PNC Park was absolutely electric.
Unfortunately, the Pirates couldn't complete the comeback in regulation, sending the game to extra innings for the second straight night. Arizona scored in the tenth after some shaky Pirates defense, but Pittsburgh answered once again. Tyler Callihan moved the runner to third with a sacrifice bunt before Jared Triolo battled with two strikes and hit a ground ball to first that wasn't handled cleanly, allowing Endy Rodriguez to score the tying run.
Wilber Dotel delivered a huge scoreless eleventh inning, highlighted by a beautiful double play to end the frame, giving the Pirates yet another opportunity to complete the comeback. This time they couldn't capitalize.
Arizona scratched across another run in the twelfth, and the Pirates finally ran out of magic. Pittsburgh went down in order in the bottom half, falling 8-7 after one of the most thrilling games of the season.
It was an absolutely crushing loss. The comeback effort deserved a better ending, but instead it left everything riding on the series finale.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, Game 3 looked nothing like the first two games.
The offense had no answers for left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who completely shut Pittsburgh down over eight scoreless innings. The Pirates knew left-handed pitching could present problems entering the finale, but in a game with so much at stake, they simply never mounted much of a fight.
Brandyn Garcia finished things off with a quick scoreless ninth as the Pirates were shut out.
Jared Jones looked sharp early, but a two-run homer by Gabriel Moreno proved to be all Arizona really needed. Jones later surrendered another run on a Max Kepler RBI single, but even one run would have felt like enough the way the Pirates' offense performed.
The Diamondbacks took Game 3, the series, the season tiebreaker, and left Pittsburgh with a two-game cushion over the Pirates in the Wild Card race.
Final Thoughts
The first two games of this series were everything you could ask for in meaningful late-July baseball. The atmosphere at PNC Park was incredible, the games were packed with drama, and it truly felt like playoff baseball had returned to the North Shore. Unfortunately, the finale was the exact opposite. The Pirates' offense never showed much life, and the series ended with a thud instead of another memorable battle.
Bubba Chandler had been trending in the right direction over his previous few starts, but Game 2 was a step backward. The stuff is still there, but finding consistency remains one of the biggest keys for this team's postseason hopes.
More than anything, a 2-4 homestand feels like a massive missed opportunity. This was arguably the biggest stretch of home games the Pirates have played in over a decade, and instead of gaining ground in the Wild Card race, they watched one of the teams they were chasing leave town with the upper hand.
Bullpen help should still be near the top of the trade deadline shopping list, but it cannot be the only priority. This lineup continues to struggle against quality left-handed pitching, and that weakness showed itself again in the biggest game of the series. If the Pirates are serious about making a postseason push, they need another bat capable of consistently producing against lefties.
Next up for the Pirates is a four-game road series against the Cincinnati Reds. First pitch in the opener is scheduled for 7:10 PM, with the Pirates expected to begin the game with Yohan Ramirez in a bullpen game against Rhett Lowder.
