Pirates Back to .500 With Win Over White Sox; Drama in Late Innings

· Yahoo Sports

The Pirates got back to .500 after escaping two bases-loaded jams in the late innings to hold on and beat the White Sox 4-2 at Rate Field on Wednesday night. 

Scoring Plays

Top 5th, 1-0 PIT: Emserlyn Valdez opened the scoring with an opposite-field solo home run off Davis Martin (9-7).

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Top 7th, 4-0 PIT: The Pirates (73-73) struck for three runs against Sean Newcomb. Rafael Flores Jr. singled home pinch-runner Billy Cook and Konnor Griffin plated a pair with a line drive single up the middle.

Bottom 7th, 4-1 PIT: The White Sox (75-70) loaded the bases with one out against Camilo Doval, and Sam Antonacci hit a sharp grounder to first base. Spencer Horwitz made a diving stop, but nobody covered first, allowing a run to score on an RBI single.

Bottom 8th, 4-2 PIT: Munetaka Murakami led off the inning with a towering home run to right field off Luke Weaver.

Key Moments

Manager Don Kelly turned to Yohan Ramírez after Camilo Doval allowed an RBI single to Sam Antonacci in the seventh. With the tying run on first base, Ramírez got Miguel Vargas to bounce into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.

The White Sox again loaded the bases with one out the following inning, this time against Luke Weaver. Chase Meidroth hit one sharply to third base, but Jared Triolo snared the liner and stepped on third base for another inning-ending double play.

Player of the Game

Brandon Eisert (3-2) got his first win with the Pirates after throwing 2.1-perfect innings of relief. The left-hander struck out a career-high five batters.

Stat to Know

This is the first time the Pirates have won five straight series since Aug. 14-30, 2015. It’s also the first time they’ve won three straight road series since Aug. 16-25, 2021. Pittsburgh has won six of its last seven series overall.

Notable Performances

  • Lake Bachar: 1.2 innings, two hits, no runs, one walk, three strikeouts, 27 pitches/20 strikes
  • Esmerlyn Valdez: 1 for 2, one home run, one walk, one RBI, one run
  • Konnor Griffin: 1 for 4, one walk, two RBI, one stea
  • Brandon Lowe: 2 for 4, one walk

Noteworthy

  • The Pirates are back to .500 for the first time since beating the Brewers on Aug. 3 (57-57). This is the first time they’ve been .500 or better this late in the season since finishing the 2018 season 82-79.
  • Mason Montgomery notched his 11th save of the season.
  • Pittsburgh improved to 27-14 against the American League this year, the best interleague record in MLB. They are also 9-2 against the AL Central.
  • Lake Bachar has a 1.77 ERA in nine starts this season. The Pirates have won four of the five games he’s started since he was acquired from the Marlins.

Up Next

RHP Jared Jones (3-6, 4.46 ERA) starts for the Pirates in Thursday’s series finale. The White Sox have not announced a starting pitcher. First pitch: 7:40 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.

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