‘I Was Just Praying,’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa Lays Down Perfect Bunt, Sets up Walk-Off Win

PITTSBURGH — Nick Gonzales of course gets the credit for walking off the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 on Friday night at PNC Park, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa deserves at least an assist.

The Pittsburgh Pirates entered the bottom of the ninth inning locked in a 4-4 tie with the Phillies.

Adam Frazier led off the inning with a base hit the other way into left field. Jared Triolo followed with a base hit of his own.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa then stepped to the plate with one goal — bunt the runners over.

“Just praying that I get the job right there, honestly,” Kiner-Falefa said on laying down a bunt. “I was just praying.”

As it turns out, the bunt couldn’t have been better.

The ball looked destined to go foul, but instead reversed course and headed back towards the field of play as Phillies reliever Jordan Romano, and catcher J.T. Realmuto and looked on in despair.

“I was as excited as if someone hit a homer,” Gonzales said on the bunt. “To see that bunt just spin, then it kicked and hit a piece of dirt and then stayed fair. It was really cool to see from my perspective.”

Bunts don't get much better than this pic.twitter.com/WtrzzBvFrS

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 7, 2025

Kiner-Falefa ended up reaching first base to load the bases and turn the lineup over with nobody out.

“I didn’t care if I got a hit or not,” Kiner-Falefa explained. “I was just like, ‘Stay fair, stay fair somehow.’ It hit the very corner of my bat and I don’t have my cup, so usually when I do that it stays fair somehow. Right when I hit it I had a good feeling. I was just praying they didn’t touch it foul. Got lucky right there.”

Though it ended up not mattering, at the time, Kiner-Falefa reaching on the attempted sacrifice was a big deal.

It meant that the Phillies had to pitch to Oneil Cruz, the biggest threat in the Pirates’ lineup, instead of issuing an intentional walk.

Cruz ended up striking out, but Gonzales picked him up by hitting a sacrifice fly to left field which allowed Adam Frazier to trot in from third base and score easily.

Kiner-Falefa had full confidence in the top of the lineup.

“Knowing Cruz is right there behind me, set it up for Cruz. He wasn’t able to get the job done, but Gonzo did. If it wasn’t Gonzo. Bryan (Reynolds) would’ve got it done.”

Despite leading the team in batting average on the season, Kiner-Falefa has consistently been at the bottom of the Pirates’ lineup.

It’s not a misstep by manager Don Kelly.

Kiner-Falefa has been the table-setter for the top of the lineup, and he appreciates what comes with hitting ninth as opposed to hitting at the top of the order.

“That’s what I enjoy about hitting at the bottom of the order is just being able to make things like that happen and set the table for the big guns,” he explained. “No outs, bases loaded, I was like, ‘Yeah, we’re in good shape.’ It was nice. Once I saw Cruz walking up, I had a good feeling about it. Gonzo’s right there behind him and Bryan’s right there.”

The bunt has become a lost art in the new-age of baseball. But it still has value to a team like the Pirates, who aren’t going to out-slug anyone.

Kiner-Falefa’s bunt was as good as you’ll ever see, and it paid big dividends in a dramatic Pirates’ win.