PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - For the first time since August 3rd, the Pirates are back at .500 this season.
They beat the White Sox 4-2 Wednesday night to get to 73-73. They still sit 5 games back from the final Wild Card spot
Esmerlyn Valdez homered in the top of the 5th inning to get Pittsburgh on the board first. Rafael Flores Jr. singled home a run in the 7th and Konnor Griffin added two more with a two-run single to make it 4-0 Pirates. Chicago got on the board in the bottom of the 7th with a Sam Antonacci RBI single and and Munetaka Murakami solo shot in the bottom of the 8th.
Chicago loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 8th but a hot shot hit at third base resulted in a double play to get the Pirates out of the jam. Mason Montgomery closed out the 9th with two strikeouts and earned his 11th save. He has not allowed a run in his last 19 appearances.
It was a bullpen game for the Bucs. Lake Bachar opened with 3 strikeouts in 1.2 innings pitched. Brandon Eisert fanned 5 in 2.1 innings pitched. Yohan Ramirez, Gregory Soto and Carmen Mlodzinski all threw scoreless outings.
"That was a full team win. It took everyone pretty much on the roster to get it done. It was Lake opening, Eisert, maybe his best outting that I can remember with us. Coming in and really did a great job," said Don Kelly. "Triolo off the bench with two huge double plays. He made that first one look a lot easier than it was."
The Padres now hold the final Wild Card spot by a half game. Arizona is right behind them and Pittsburgh is behind Arizona.
Playoff Picture
Here's what the final 16 games look like for those three teams and if they face many playoff teams.
The Pirates play the Cubs (playoff team), Brewers (playoff team), Royals, Cardinals and Tigers.
Arizona faces Texas (1.5 games out of Wild Card), Marlins, Yankees (playoff team), Rockies and Padres (fighting for Wild Card).
San Diego will play the Gaints, Rockies, Marlins, Dodgers (playoff team) and Diamondbacks (fighting for Wild Card).
The Numbers
Pittsburgh has now won 5 series in a row, the longest series winning streak since August 14th through the 30th in 2015.. They are 8-2 in their last 10 and look for the sweep Thursday. They haven't had a road sweep against an American League team since July 12th - 14th and it was against the White Sox.
"Playing hard every single day and I know we've talked a lot about it but the mindset coming in is to win that day and find any way we can to win that day. I think the guys are doing a great job of that. Staying focused on what we can control and just continue to keep the pedal down and keep on going," said Kelly.
Konnor Griffin stole two bags and drove in two runs for the first time in his career. He's up to 22 stolen bases this season.
"That's what I like to do. Get on base, steal bases, get dirty. That's how I play," said Griffin.
The Pirates are at .500 or better after 146 games for teh first time since 2018 when they finished 82-79.
Up Next
They wrap the series with the White Sox at 7:40 Thursday night. Jared Jones starts for the Pirates. The White Sox have not named a starter yet.
The Pirates still sit 5 games out of the final Wild Card spot
The Pirates still sit 5 games out of the final Wild Card spot
