The Pittsburgh Pirates entered their series against the Detroit Tigers fresh off their first series win since just after the All-Star break, taking two of three from the Boston Red Sox. With time quickly running out and only a little over a month remaining on the schedule, the Bucs needed to keep stacking series wins if they wanted any chance of climbing back into the Wild Card picture.
Their next opportunity came at home against Detroit, and while the series certainly did not start the way Pittsburgh wanted, the Pirates managed to respond in a big way and steal another series.
Game 1 did not exactly feel like a continuation of the momentum the Pirates had built against Boston. With the game being broadcast nationally on ESPN, Pittsburgh was thumped for most of the night as Framber Valdez kept the offense in check and Carmen Mlodzinski struggled to find his footing.
Mlodzinski was hit around early and often, particularly with two outs. The Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first two innings, and Mlodzinski's night came to an end after just three innings. He finished with a line of 3.0 innings, eight hits, four earned runs, three strikeouts, and one walk.
For a guy who wants to establish himself as a starter in this league, things simply have not gone well in that role lately. His early exit meant Isaac Mattson was entering the game in just the fourth inning, putting even more pressure on an already heavily used bullpen.
The Pirates and Tigers each added a run in the fifth inning thanks in part to some sloppy defense, making it 5-1 Detroit. Things got even uglier in the sixth when Yohan Ramirez, who had been one of Pittsburgh's most reliable arms over the previous few months, completely lost the zone. Three walks and two singles led to three more runs and suddenly the Tigers had an 8-1 lead.
But the Battlin' Bucs weren't going away quietly. With two outs and a runner on third, it looked like the Pirates were destined to go down without much of a fight. Instead, Jake Mangum and Rafael Flores Jr. drew back-to-back walks to load the bases for Nick Yorke. He delivered by lining a three-run double into the left field corner to cut the deficit to 8-4. Henry Davis followed with a big two-out single up the middle to bring Yorke home, and just like that, an 8-1 blowout had become an 8-5 game.
The Pirates' bullpen did its job the rest of the way, keeping Detroit right where they were. Unfortunately, the offense went quiet again and the Tigers held on for an 8-5 victory in the opener.
The Pirates welcomed Oneil Cruz back to the lineup for the first time since June, and they had Braxton Ashcraft on the mound in Game 2. As it turns out, that was pretty much all they needed.
In just his second at-bat, Cruz launched a signature Cruz Missile toward the Miller Lite bar in right-center field for a two-run homer, giving Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning.
With the way Ashcraft was pitching, that lead felt like it could be enough. Ashcraft followed up his 85-pitch complete game from earlier in the season with another spectacular performance. The Big Texan cruised through eight innings of one-run baseball, finishing the eighth at just 80 pitches.
While everyone wanted to see Ashcraft get another opportunity at a complete game, Don Kelly elected to turn the ball over to Mason Montgomery for the final three outs.
Ashcraft's only earned run came on a solo homer from Brett Callahan in the fifth. He finished with an incredible line of 8.0 innings, five hits, one earned run, four strikeouts, and zero walks. Simply dominant.
The Pirates gave him a little more breathing room, adding another run after Cruz's homer when Spencer Horwitz delivered an RBI single. Bryan Reynolds then came through with a clutch two-out hit in the eighth to bring home another run and make it 4-1.
Montgomery took care of business in the ninth, and the Pirates evened the series at one game apiece.
Suddenly, the rubber match carried some serious weight. Paul Skenes was on the mound after getting a few extra days of rest, and the Pirates desperately needed to see their ace put together a strong outing. On top of that, dropping the series with a lengthy nine-game road trip looming would have felt dangerously close to a nail in the coffin for Pittsburgh's season.
Unfortunately, Skenes still did not quite look like himself yet again. His velocity wasn't particularly concerning, as he was regularly reaching 97 mph, but his command continued to be an issue. He walked three batters through the first two innings and finished with four free passes overall.
Skenes battled through the early innings, but eventually it caught up to him in the fifth. With the game tied at 1-1, Skenes gave up a bloop hit that put Detroit in front. His day ended after that, and Gregory Soto entered in relief. Soto gave up an RBI double to Kevin McGonigle, which added another earned run to Skenes' line and put the Tigers ahead 3-1.
Skenes finished with a disappointing line of 4.1 innings, four hits, three earned runs, five strikeouts, and four walks. That simply isn't the version of Skenes this Pirates team needs if they are going to make any sort of miraculous late-season run.
The Pirates did get on the board early, however, thanks to the guy they had been waiting to get back. Oneil Cruz lined a two-out base hit into left-center field to bring home a run and immediately make his presence felt.
After that, though, the Pittsburgh offense disappeared. The 3-1 Tigers lead remained all the way into the seventh inning, and it looked like the Pirates were going to waste another opportunity.
Then Rafael Flores Jr. stepped to the plate. Flores entered the game with one out and nobody on as a pinch hitter for Henry Davis, and boy, was it the right call.
Raffy crushed a ball into the second deck in left field, a 422-foot blast that brought Pittsburgh within one. The Pirates had life again, and Flores wasn't finished.
With one out in the ninth inning against one of the best closers of his generation in Kenley Jansen, Flores turned on a tough two-strike pitch and absolutely demolished another one. He blasted it right into the rotunda in left field.
His second homer of the game tied it at 3-3 and sent PNC Park into a frenzy. After being nearly invisible offensively for most of the game, the Pirates had suddenly tied the game against one of the best closers in baseball.
That set the stage for Brandon Lowe.
Lowe launched a ball deep to right field and watched it bang off the yellow foul pole for a walk-off home run. A beautiful bat flip followed, and Lowe was mobbed at home plate.
PNC Park erupted as the Pirates completed one heck of a comeback to steal the rubber match and take their second consecutive series.
Final Thoughts
What a response from this ball club.
After getting thumped in the opener and facing another situation where a series loss would have felt devastating, the Pirates found a way to take the final two games and continue keeping their season alive.
Braxton Ashcraft was dominant. Oneil Cruz immediately reminded everyone exactly what this lineup has been missing. Rafael Flores Jr. delivered two enormous home runs in the finale. And, of course, Brandon Lowe did what Brandon Lowe has done all season long: come through when his team needed him most.
There is still a long way to go before this team can realistically say it is back in contention, but this was the kind of series that could make the upcoming road trip a little more interesting.
The Pirates now head west to take on the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers to open a nine-game road trip. That is obviously about as difficult of a start to a road trip as you can get, but if Pittsburgh can carry this momentum into Los Angeles and stay afloat, the following series in San Diego could suddenly become very meaningful.
The Pirates currently sit 5.5 games behind the Padres, so this is where they need to make their push. If they are going to make one last run at the postseason, there may not be another chance.
Next up, the Pirates take on the Dodgers on Friday night. Bubba Chandler is scheduled to face Yoshinobu Yamamoto, with first pitch set for 10:10 PM ET.
