Nick Gonzales’ sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth scored Adam Frazier and lifted the host Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-4 comeback win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night in a game that began late following a one-hour, 23-minute rain delay.
Gonzales’ walk-off RBI secured the Pirates their first win over Philadelphia this season.
The Phillies played without Bryce Harper, who was not in the lineup due to a sore right wrist.
The Pirates loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth on a single by Frazier, a bloop single to center by Jared Triolo and a perfectly executed bunt single by Isiah Kiner-Falefa that rolled up the third base line slowly and stopped.
Phillies reliever Jordan Romano (0-3) struck out Oneil Cruz, but Gonzales lifted a fly ball that landed in the glove of Max Kepler on the warning track, allowing Frazier to walk home with the Pirates’ second win in the past three games.
Frazier led the Pirates at the plate with three hits while Bryan Reynolds and Henry Davis each had two hits, a home run and two RBIs.
Trea Turner led the Phillies with three hits and two RBIs.
The Pirates and Phillies matched each other to a 4-4 stalemate after four innings.
Turner singled and then came around to score two batters later on a Nick Castellanos groundout to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
Pittsburgh answered in the bottom half when Gonzales tripled and scored on an RBI single by Reynolds.
Tied at 2 in the top of the fourth, Turner drove in two more runs on a single off reliever Chase Shugart, which scored J.T. Realmuto and Edmundo Sosa.
Shugart had just relieved Pirates starter Bailey Falter, who matched his shortest outing of the season, pitching 3 2/3 innings. Falter allowed four runs on five hits and two walks and struck out two on 65 pitches.
But the Pirates picked up their starter, scoring two in the bottom half of the fourth inning on Davis’ two-run home run. Davis entered the game in the third inning after Endy Rodriguez left the game with right elbow discomfort.
Pirates reliever David Bednar (1-4) struck out the side in the ninth to keep the game tied.
–Field Level Media
