PHOENIX (AP) — Ji Hwan Bae scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in Pittsburgh’s four-run 10th inning, Joey Bart hit a tying run-scoring double in the ninth and the Pirates rallied to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 on Sunday.
The teams combined for five hits through eight innings, with Arizona leading 2-1 into the ninth.
Then things got wild.
Rowdy Tellez, who sat out Saturday night because of back spasms, entered in the ninth inning as a pinch hitter and led off with a double against Paul Sewald. Bart followed with a two-out double to tie it. The blown save was Sewald’s fourth in 20 chances.
“That was sick — they both came off the bench and hit lasers,” said Pirates right fielder Jared Triolo, who made a diving catch to end the ninth inning.
Bae opened the 10th inning with a bunt single and Justin Martinez (4-2) walked Yasmani Grandal to load the bases. After Arizona catcher Jose Herrera caught just enough of the plate to get a forceout — overturned on review — Martinez uncorked a wild pitch that scored the speedy Bae.
Martinez then hit Alika Williams with a pitch to score another run and Ke’Bryan Hayes made it 6-2 with a two-run bloop single.
“I think this is our biggest victory,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “To come back from where we were at, the way Mitch (Keller) pitched, just to continue to grind through it.”
It still wasn’t over.
Arizona’s Eugenio Suárez hit a two-run homer off Colin Holderman in the 10th that was upheld upon review — Pirates’ left fielder Joshua Palacios thought a fan interfered — and pinch hitter Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a two-out solo shot that curled just inside the left foul pole.
Corbin Carroll followed with a triple to the corner in right, but Holderman got Geraldo Perdomo to ground out to end it.
“These are the games that force you to lose sleep for people in my position,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I’m sure everyone on this team feels the same way, but as you unpack it, what I want to make sure we do is learn and grow from what took place.”
Oneil Cruz homered for the second straight game and Aroldis Chapman (3-4) worked a perfect ninth for the Pirates.
It was a pitchers’ duel before the late-game fireworks.
Arizona starter Yilber Diaz allowed a hit in five scoreless innings, with seven strikeouts and four walks.
Cruz hit Joe Mantiply’s third pitch out to right for his 17th homer, a day after launching a 472-foot shot. It ended Mantiply’s streak of not allowing a homer at 59 2/3 innings.
Keller allowed two runs on three hits in six innings, with five strikeouts and two walks.
“There were some good things, but the things we didn’t do well we definitely need to improve upon,” Lovullo said.
TRAINER’S TABLE
Pirates: 2B Nick Gonzales was placed on the 10-day injured list after leaving Saturday’s game with left groin discomfort. Pittsburgh recalled Williams from Triple-A Indianapolis to fill his roster spot.
UP NEXT
Pirates: All-Star RHP Paul Skenes (6-1, 1.93 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Monday to start a three-game series at Houston.
Diamondbacks: LHP Jordan Montgomery (7-5, 6.11) starts the opener of a three-game series against Washington on Monday.
GUARDIANS 4, PHILLIES 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Steven Kwan hit a go-ahead solo homer in the seventh inning after Jhonkensy Noel tied the score with a three-run shot in the fourth, and the Cleveland Guardians rallied for a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.
Kwan’s 11th homer of the season came off lefty reliever José Alvarado (1-5) and helped Cleveland win two of three at Philadelphia. The Guardians won their 63rd game, tops in the American League, and trail only the Phillies (65) for most in the majors.
“Home runs help,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It’s not part of who we are, necessarily. But we have been able to hit them in big moments.”
Kyle Schwarber homered twice for the Phillies off Cleveland rookie Joey Cantillo, a leadoff shot and a two-run homer in the fourth for a 3-0 lead.
Tim Herrin (4-0) got one out in the sixth. Emmanuel Clase retired Schwarber on a weak grounder as part of a scoreless ninth for his 33rd save. Cleveland’s six relievers tossed one-hit shutout ball and struck out six over the final 5 2/3 innings.
“That’s the beauty of this bullpen,” Vogt said. “They’ve done whatever we’ve asked of them. We needed to go to the pen early today and they came through.”
A potential World Series preview?
Perhaps — though not with the matchup of Cantillo vs. Philadelphia’s Kolby Allard. Neither starter lasted beyond the fourth inning. Allard was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill the injured Ranger Suárez’s spot in the rotation.
The Phillies are in a summer funk after they raced to the best start in franchise history. They lost for the sixth time in nine games since the All-Star break and the eighth time in the last 12 games overall.
“We’ve got to straighten some things out, for sure,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “We’ve got to get back to winning series. Get back to winning the first game of the series, which is critical.”
The Phillies gave away “Schwarbomb” beach towels, and fans went wild waving their freebie with each blast. Schwarber’s first was his 40th career leadoff homer, 27th with the Phillies and ninth this season. His second gave him 22 this season, his 29th career multi-homer game and fourth this season.
“That could have easily gotten away from us,” Vogt said.
Not with this bullpen.
After Noel tied it 3-all, Cleveland’s relievers bailed out Cantillo.
With the left-handed Schwarber already 2 for 2 against the left-handed Cantillo, Vogt called for righty Cade Smith in the fourth with two runners and one out. Smith struck out Schwarber, then fanned All-Star shortstop Trea Turner to end the threat.
“We trust every single one of them in any situation,” Vogt said.
In the seventh, Schwarber drew a one-out walk, but reliever Hunter Gaddis retired Bryce Harper on a flyout; the two-time NL MVP slammed his bat in disgust on the second out.
“We’ve had chances to win games, we’ve been in the lead in games and haven’t been able to get the job done,” Harper said. “We’ve just got to turn the page and understand we’ve got a long season to go, and just keep going.”
Cantillo, Cleveland’s No. 10 prospect, allowed three runs and lasted just 3 1/3 innings in his debut. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder was originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 16th round of the 2017 draft. The Guardians acquired him three years later as part of a package of young players for Mike Clevinger. Cantillo’s debut meant all six players acquired in the deal played for Cleveland.
He gave up four hits, walked three, struck out three and threw 75 pitches.
Allard walked none but gave up six hits in four innings in his first start of the season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Guardians: All-Star 1B Josh Naylor sat out for a second straight game but could return to the lineup on Monday.
UP NEXT
The Guardians head to Detroit for a two-game series. Cleveland sends RHP Tanner Bibee (8-4, 3.50 ERA) to the mound against Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (7-5, 2.95).
The New York Yankees come to Philadelphia for a three-game series. The Yankees send RHP Luis Gil (10-5, 3.15) to the mound on Monday against Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler (10-4, 2.55).
BRAVES 9, METS 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Olson homered in consecutive games for the first time this season, and the Atlanta Braves overcame an injury to All-Star starter Reynaldo López in a 9-2 rout against the New York Mets on Sunday.
Austin Riley, Orlando Arcia and Ramón Laureano also went deep for the Braves, who salvaged a four-game split after losing the first two games of the series. They hold the top National League wild card and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of New York for second place in the NL East.
“That’s a good win for our team,” manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s encouraging. Maybe we’re breathing some life into that offense.”
López pitched three shutout innings, lowering his major league-leading ERA to 2.06, before exiting with right forearm tightness. He is day-to-day and headed back to Atlanta for an MRI. The Braves already have a string of star players on the injured list.
“Right now, it’s forearm tightness and we took him out as a precaution,” Snitker said. “I’m glad he said something because you just don’t know about those things.”
Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer and Tyrone Taylor doubled twice for New York. Hours before the game, the Mets finalized a trade with Washington for outfielder Jesse Winker. He received a nice ovation from the Citi Field crowd before striking out as a pinch hitter in the eighth.
Olson threw his bat and helmet in frustration after striking out against David Peterson (5-1) in the first. But then Olson launched a three-run homer 426 feet into the upper deck in right field to give Atlanta a 3-0 lead in the fourth.
It was Olson’s fourth home run off the New York left-hander in 15 at-bats.
“Still just going to be working to have consistent at-bats every time, but seeing results is good,” Olson said.
Arcia drew a bases-loaded walk later in the inning. He hit a solo homer in the seventh and Riley added a two-run shot off Ryne Stanek, who was making his Mets debut after being acquired Friday evening in a trade with Seattle.
Laureano’s two-run drive in the eighth made it 9-0.
“It was good to see the offense do some damage,” Riley said.
Dylan Lee (3-2) relieved López at the start of the fourth and fired two scoreless innings.
New York had six hits, including four doubles, through the first five innings but was unable to score, going 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. The Mets threatened in the fifth after a leadoff double by Taylor, but he was thrown out at the plate by Laureano on Ben Gamel’s single to center field.
“That’s a good pitching staff,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We created traffic today, especially in the first three innings, but couldn’t get that big hit.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: LHP Max Fried (forearm) played long toss in the outfield. He is eligible to come off the injured list Friday, but there’s no timetable for his return.
Mets: CF Harrison Bader missed his fifth straight game with a sore right ankle. … RHP Sean Reid-Foley (shoulder impingement) made a rehab appearance with High-A Brooklyn, allowing two runs over two-thirds of an inning. … RHP Reed Garrett (elbow inflammation) will face hitters Wednesday before likely beginning a rehab assignment two days later.
UP NEXT
Braves: RHP Grant Holmes (0-0, 2.70 ERA) makes his first career start Monday night as Atlanta begins a three-game series in Milwaukee. The 28-year-old rookie spent nearly 10 years in the minors before being called up in mid-June. RHP Colin Rea (9-3, 3.60) pitches for the Brewers.
Mets: LHP Jose Quintana (5-6, 4.02 ERA) starts against Minnesota at home. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (3-1, 3.27), a former Mets farmhand, pitches for the Twins.
