Pirates Walked-Off By Rojas, Phillies in 10th Inning

Pittsburgh Pirates relief ace David Bednar was tasked with trying to extend Tuesday night’s game agaisnt the Philadelphia Phillies to the 11th inning but was unsuccessful.

Johan Rojas grounded a single up the middle off of Bednar as the Phillies defeated the Pirates 3-2 in 10 innings at Citizens Bank Park.

Recap

Bednar (3-3) struck out Brandon Marsh to begin the 10th, Rojas singled on a 1-2 pitch from Bednar that was left up in the zone, allowing automatic runner Cristian Pache to score from second.

After Mitch Keller cruised through five innings, Marsh hit a solo home run to center field to put the Phillies up 1-0. Later on in the inning, Bryce Harper tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly to center.

Keller ended his outing having held the Phillies to the two runs in 6.0 innings pitched. The right-hander allowed three hits, walked a pair and struck out six.

The Pirates (74-83) responded with their first run of the game on a Bryan Reynolds 431-foot solo shot in the top of the seventh, but that was all they could muster against starter Aaron Nola, who struck out eight in 6.2 innings.

With one out in the eighth inning, Henry Davis connected on a game-tying home run to left field off a Craig Kimbrel to make the score 2-all.

Key Moment 

Rojas’ single was a monumental one for the Phillies (88-69), as the win clinched a playoff birth for Philadelphia, who will return to the postseason after winning the National League pennant a year ago.

Star of the Game

Though he took the loss, Keller surpassed A.J. Burnett for most strikeouts in a single-season in franchise history with 210 by striking out Nick Castellanos in the fifth to put a bow on quite a season.

Stat to Know

Keller is now is only the sixth Pirates’ pitcher in franchise history with 200+ strikeouts in a season — Bob Veale (four times), Oliver Perez, Francisco Liriano, Gerrit Cole and Burnett.

Noteworthy

• Davis’ home run was part of a two-hit performance, which extended his current hitting streak to five games. Over that span, he’s hitting .350 (7 for 20) with two doubles and a pair of homers.
• Liover Peguero snapped an 0-for-14 skid with an opposite-field single in his first at-bat in the fourth inning.
• The Pirates are now 3-9 in extra innings this season.
• Prior to first pitch, Nick Gonzales was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and fellow infielder Alika Williams was optioned to Indy.

Up Next

The Pirates and Phillies will continue their three-game series on Wednesday night. RHP Johan Oviedo (9-14, 4.12 ERA) will make his final start of the season. He’ll be opposed by left-hander Ranger Suárez (4-6, 3.89 ERA). First pitch: 6:40 ET.