Nick Gonzales ripped a walk-off RBI single to cap a two-run ninth inning and lift the host Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.
Connor Joe singled and Andrew McCutchen worked a walk off Jose Alvarado (1-4) to begin the ninth inning. Pinch runner Michael A. Taylor and McCutchen each stole a base to put runners in scoring position, and both came home after a fielder’s choice from Oneil Cruz and Gonzales’ single to left field.
Cruz collected three hits, three RBIs and scored on the first two of three sacrifice flies by Rowdy Tellez. Bryan Reynolds also had three hits and Gonzales drove in another run for the Pirates, who overcame a three-run deficit with two runs in the seventh and ninth innings.
The late uprising made a winner of Carmen Mlodzinski (2-3), who allowed two hits over one scoreless inning.
Philadelphia’s Weston Wilson highlighted his three-hit performance, a career high, with a solo home run in the third inning, his first of the season. Trea Turner launched a two-run homer, Nick Castellanos ripped a two-run double and Kyle Schwarber added a sacrifice fly for the Phillies.
Tellez’s second sacrifice fly forged a 4-4 tie in the third inning before Philadelphia regained the lead in the fourth. Cristian Pache singled to lead off the inning and Turner deposited a 2-2 sinker from Martin Perez over the wall in left field for his 12th homer of the season and ninth in July.
Schwarber added insurance with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning to extend the Phillies’ lead to 7-4. The Pirates answered in the seventh as Cruz legged out an RBI infield single and Reynolds scored on a sacrifice fly.
Castellanos drove a ball just inside the third base line to plate Turner and Bryce Harper to give Philadelphia a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Wilson’s hard smash off the chest of Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes allowed Alec Bohm to score.
Pittsburgh promptly responded with three runs in its half of the first, as Cruz ripped an RBI double and Gonzales and Tellez each drove in a run.
–Field Level Media
