Pirates Fall 4-3 to Phillies After Blown Save, Castellanos Walk-Off

The Pirates fell 4-3 to the Phillies on Saturday, unable to overcome a blown save from Aroldis Chapman in a back-and-forth contest that saw a walk-off single from right fielder Nick Castellanos. Starting pitcher Marco Gonzales went six innings, notching his fifth straight start allowing two or fewer runs and tying the second-longest such streak of his career in the process.

Bryan Reynolds walked with one out in the first inning, setting up an RBI double from Ke’Bryan Hayes that gave Pittsburgh the lead. The Phillies answered right back with a home run from Kyle Schwarber who finished the day having reached base five times, going 3-for-3 with a pair of walks. Trea Turner followed Schwarber up with a double, then scored himself on a single from Castellanos.

Gonzales settled in from there: although he allowed three more hits and walks apiece, he managed to keep the Phillies from plating another run.

Reynolds and Hayes drew two-out walks in the third, moving into scoring position on a wild pitch, but Jack Suwinski went down looking to end the inning.

Battle of the Bullpens

Alika Williams singled to start the fifth, then Oneil Cruz pushed the Pirates ahead with an opposite-field home run, his third long ball of the young season.

Aroldis Chapman entered in the seventh inning, walking Schwarber and Bryce Harper. A passed ball and groundout helped Schwarber advance to third, and he scored from there on a Bryson Stott single.

The Pirates didn’t manage another base runner against the Phillies bullpen, while Jose Hernandez loaded the bases with a single and two walks—one of them intentional—before Castellanos walked it off with a single to center.

Pittsburgh falls to 10-5 on the season. The Pirates look to force a series tie at 1:35pm Sunday, with Mitch Keller (1-1, 5.29 ERA) set to start.