Lowe Walks Off Tigers After Flores Blasts Two Homers

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Brandon Lowe hit his first career walk-off home run as a Pirate and seventh career walk-off RBI as the Pirates score two in the ninth to beat the Tigers 4-3 and take the series.

It was the fourth walk-off win of the season.

Flores double dingers

Rafael Flores first home run was as a pinch-hitter, the first time he did that in his career and it set an all-time record for Pirates home runs at PNC Park with 82. His next came with one-out in the ninth off veteran closer Kenley Jansen. The first one to left field went 422 feet in the seventh inning and the second went 431 feet to tie the game.

Other than Flores and Lowe, Oneil Cruz had the Pirates other RBI with a single in the first inning. The Bucs offense scuffled in-between leaving at least one base-runner in every inning but the third inning.

Skenes

The NL Cy Young Award winner walked the first two batters of the game, but was able to get out of the first inning. He walked the leadoff man in the second, no run across. However, in the third, Hao-Yu Lee singled to start the inning and came home on a sacrifice fly. Three of the first four batters in the fifth inning reached as Skenes was replaced by Gregory Soto, who gave up an RBI double to make it 3-1 Tigers.

Skenes final line—4.1 innings, 4 hits, 3 earned runs, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts as his ERA raises to 3.95, which is 39^th in MLB.

Up Next

An off day on Thursday as the Pirates travel to the West Coast to open up a series at the Dodgers on Friday. Bubba Chandler (6-8, 4.23 ERA) starts for the Bucs against RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-7, 2.60 ERA) with the North Shore Tavern Leadoff Show at 9p and first pitch at 10:10p on 93.7 The Fan. Dodgers will start veteran lefties Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell Saturday and Sunday.