Pirates Win Rubber Match in Arizona; 2 Bombs, Keller Finds it
Mitch Keller grinded through the early portion of his outing but delivered another quality start and the Pittsburgh Pirates hit two home runs in a 4-2 rubber match win against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Thursday.
Scoring Plays
Top 1st, 1-0 PIT: For the second time in as many games, Brandon Lowe hit a first-inning home run to give the Pirates (21-17) an early lead. His solo shot to right field off Zac Gallen (1-3) traveled 436 feet.
Bottom 1st, 1-1: Adrian Del Castillo singled to right off Mitch Keller (4-1) to bring home the tying run from second base with two outs.
Bottom 3rd, 2-1 ARZ: Corbin Carroll ripped a 406-foot solo home run to right-center field to give the Diamondbacks (17-19) their only lead of the game.
Top 5th, 3-2 PIT: Ryan O’Hearn and Spencer Horwitz hit back-to-back run-scoring singles. Gallen retired the first two batters he faced in the inning before four straight batters reached for the Pirates.
Top 6th, 4-2 PIT: Joey Bart connected on his second home run of the season, a lined shot to left field off Gallen.
Key Moments
The Pirates had been 0 for 18 with runners in scoring position this series before Ryan O’Hearn and Spencer Horwitz delivered two-straight run-scoring singles in the fifth.
Arizona put two runners on with two outs against Mason Montgomery in the eighth. The Pirates turned to Isaac Mattson, who struck out pinch-hitter Nolan Arenado to preserve the two-run lead.
Player of the Game
Brandon Lowe homered as part of a three-hit performance. It was his third three-hit game of the season and the second time he homered in two straight games.
Stat to Know
The Pirates have now won three straight road series against National League teams. The last time Pittsburgh won at least four straight road series against NL opponents came from September 4-27, 2015, when it won each of its final five road series of the year.
Notable Performances
- Mitch Keller: 6.0 innings, four hits, two runs, two walks, four strikeouts, 84 pitches/50 strikes
- Brandon Lowe: 3 for 5, one home run, one RBI two runs
- Joey Bart: 2 for 4, one home run, one RBI, one run
Noteworthy
- Gregory Soto earned his third save of the season.
- Mitch Keller passed Dock Ellis (869) for the eighth-most strikeouts in team history. Keller now has 872 in his career.
- Jake Mangum (left hamstring discomfort) was scratched from the original starting lineup. Billy Cook replaced him in center field and hit eighth.
- The Pirates placed RHP Chris Devenski (undisclosed illness) on the 15-day injured list and recalled RHP Cam Sanders from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Up Next
The Pirates will travel to San Francisco for the start of a weekend series on Friday night. Pittsburgh will have RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (2-2, 4.76 ERA) on the mound. Veteran LHP Robbie Ray (2-4, 2.95 ERA) will start for the Giants. First pitch: 10:15 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh, MLB Network/93.7 The Fan.
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