Pirates Battle Back to Walk Off Orioles in 9th, Nick Yorke the Hero Off Bench
PITTSBURGH — Nick Yorke didn’t enter the game until the bottom of the eight inning but delivered a walk-off double in the ninth to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday evening.
Scoring Plays
To 4th, 2-0 BAL: The Orioles (3-5) sent eight men to the plate and plated a pair of runs against Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski. Dylan Beavers and Leody Taveras each recorded RBI singles.
Bottom 4th, 2-1 BAL: The Pirates (5-3) got on the board on Spencer Horwitz’s sac fly to left field off right-hander Shane Baz.
Bottom 8th, 2-2: With runners on the corners and two outs, pinch-hitter Jake Mangum grounded a ball weakly to the right of the pitcher’s mound. Orioles right-hander Anthony Nunez was unable to handle the ball for a game-tying RBI single.
Bottom 9th, 3-2 PIT : Bryan Reynolds doubled off Ryan Helsley (0-1) and Ryan O’Hearn was intentionally walked. Nick Yorke, who pinch ran for Marcell Ozuna in the eighth inning, delivered the walk-off blow with an RBI double
Key Moment
Jake Mangum’s RBI infield single — which was perhaps graciously ruled — evened the score after the Pirates looked lifeless on offense for much of the game and set up Nick Yorke’s walk-off.
Player of the Game
Nick Yorke’s game-winning hit was the first walk-off RBI of his career.
Stat to Know
Pittsburgh and Baltimore have had seven straight games decided by one run. Per OptaStats, it is Pittsburgh’s longest stretch of consecutive one-run games against any American League opponent since interleague play began in 1997. It is also the Major League record for consecutive one-run games between any two opponents during interleague play.
Notable Performances
- Carmen Mlodzinski 4.2 innings, five hits, two runs, three walks, five strikeouts, 84 pitches/49 strikes
- Nick Yorke: 1 for 1, one double, one RBI, one run
- Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 4, one double, two runs
Noteworthy
- Carmen Mlodzinski has not allowed a home run in 55.2 consecutive innings, dating back to his appearance last season on July 6 at Seattle. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that is the longest active streak among Major League pitchers.
- Pirates starting pitchers have a 2.23 ERA (9er/36.1ip) over their past seven games. Each starter during that span has allowed two earned runs or fewer.
- Oneil Cruz had 11 hits in 108 at-bats against left-handed pitchers this season. After a single off Grant Wolfram in the seventh inning, Cruz is now 6 for 8 against southpaws this year.
- Dennis Santana (2-0) was the winning pitcher after a perfect 1-2-3 inning. The win was the Pirates’ fourth in a row.
Up Next
The Pirates will try and complete the sweep over the Orioles on Easter Sunday. RHP Braxton Ashcraft (0-1, 3.00 ERA) will be on the mound for Pittsburgh against veteran RHP Chris Bassitt (0-1, 8.31 ERA). First pitch: 1:35 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.
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2nd Great Game in a row!!! Go Bucs!!
I may have told this story before on this site. I was born near Pittsburg (no “h”), KS, in the most southeastern city in Kansas, being Galena. I was a young kid, born in 1963, during the Pirates’s incredible 70s of two World Series wins and, I think, 6 division titles. We didn’t pitch well, but those teams lead by Clemente, Oliver, Dave Parker (who famously said when the leaves turn brown, I will be wearing the batting crown and despite being a triple crown candidate even more impressive was this cannon he threw with from right field) and Stargell (who if anyone dared tally probably had the record at one time for setting length of homerun distance in the most stadiums, simultaneously…. moon shots, and exciting, Willie!) Well, I couldn’t understand why so many Kansas natives were rooting for Missouri teams such as the Royals and Cardinals, not realizing it was the Pittsburg(h), PA, and not the Pittsburg, KS, Pirates that applied. I guess I passed two bars, no that never happened, I meant bar exams, on the first try, so I figured it out. There was nothing like Rennie setting a hits record over 3 games, that Oliver was the best slugging CF in the game, that Parker had an absolute cannon and who knows how many runs he saved because most coaches would not encourage their baserunners to see if they could outrun a flamethrower with Parker’s arm, Zisk, along with Hebner and Sanguillen, those dudes could hit, bullpen- Goose Gossage, Kent Tekulve, Grant Jackson, Enrique Romo (loved his wind up) formed the best bullpen, maybe ever. Lastly, back to Willie Stargell, that pitcher-intimidating pre-windup where it was like seeing him crank up more energy even though we knew it was your stroke that generated the moon shots, well that was fun to watch. I’m hoping this year in Pittsburgh, because I remained loyal, is fun and it is off to a good start.
Thanks for sharing, Kevin. That was great! My dad was born the year after you and has told me all the stories of the good ole days. And thanks for reading PBN!