Pirates show resolve in 'biggest victory' to close set

PHOENIX -- For eight innings, it appeared as if the somber tone set by second baseman Nick Gonzales landing on the injured list pregame would hang over the Pirates in Sunday’s matinee against the D-backs. But a pair of timely pinch-hit doubles in the ninth from Rowdy Tellez and Joey Bart sparked a 6-5 extra-inning comeback win at Chase Field that propelled the club back above .500 ahead of a crucial 48-hour stretch prior to the Trade Deadline.

It’s just one of 162, but this one felt like a giant pendulum swing that makes a flight to Houston -- with Bryan Reynolds expected to return to the lineup off the bereavement list and Paul Skenes starting Monday -- a joyous one.

With the win, the Pirates sit two games behind the Mets for the final National League Wild Card spot.

"I think this is our biggest victory,” manager Derek Shelton declared postgame. “I mean, to come back with where we're at [in the standings] -- the way Mitch [Keller] pitched just to continue to grind through it, be down to two strikes [left in the ninth] … but we were able to get the final out, which was really important.”

“We were actually in the cage together and it was just, ‘Make something happen,’” Bart said of his and Tellez’s approach. “Seems like, late in a game, we’re always right there. It’s 2-1, it’s been dead a few innings, but the mentality is always something can happen. Always one swing away, so that’s kind of how we attacked it and luckily it worked out.”

That all-in, all-out, everyone-contributes approach was personified by Jared Triolo, who drew the start at second base for Gonzales, just to head out to right field after a flurry of moves stemming from the ninth. Playing his first inning at the position since his freshman year at the University of Houston in 2017, Triolo laid out to make a grab that was confirmed by replay review to send the game to extra innings.

“Just kind of playing with no fear out there,” Triolo said. “Not a lot you can lose so, you know, just kind of fly around and catch balls you're supposed to catch.”

Pittsburgh pushed across four runs in the top of the 10th courtesy of a wild pitch, a bases-loaded hit by pitch of Alika Williams and a two-RBI single by Ke’Bryan Hayes. With David Bednar having worked a scoreless eighth with the club trailing -- and Aroldis Chapman working a clean ninth to force extras -- Colin Holderman was tabbed to get the final three outs. He didn’t earn a save due to the lead but finished just his third contest of the year.

Two strikes was all that stood between Pittsburgh and three straight losses to kick off a vital stretch in its schedule, all the more so considering tiebreaker scenarios and the fact it’ll play Arizona again next weekend.

The last time that the Pirates incurred a three-game sweep at the hands of the D-backs at Chase Field was in July 2021; of that starting nine, only Hayes and Reynolds remain. That series came amidst a trying season, but one that helped pave the roadmap to what has gotten the 2024 iteration on the doorstep of playoff baseball with 57 regular-season games remaining.

Keller was also a part of that group, in his first season as a full-time member of the starting rotation. He has emerged in 2024 as a bonafide top-of-the-rotation arm, managing to further improve statistically upon his All-Star campaign last year.

On Sunday, with the club’s offense missing three main, middle-of-the-order regulars, the 28-year-old delivered seven innings of two-hit, two-run ball that kept the Pirates within range of striking at an opportune moment.

It’s the stuff -- timely hitting, strong pitching, contributors up and down the roster no matter the circumstance -- that playoff baseball is made of.

“Obviously, I don't feel like we're rebuilding anymore,” Keller said. “I think everybody's kind of past that point of talks. But yeah, it definitely feels different. I think just the group of guys that we have -- everyone's really good and never takes an at-bat off, never takes a play off.

“I think that shows that when it comes down to those situations, we could have easily folded over, just lose 2-1. But everybody is still fighting for their at-bats and fighting for the team.”