*Photo from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette*
There's a pesky bunch of players in the Steel City here. Ji-Man Choi homered, Ji-Hwan Bae hit the walk off home run, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to defeat the Houston Astros with a 7-4 victory on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.
With the win, the Pirates record this season becomes the same as the final score, 7-4 through 11 games. They evened the series in the process, and did so in a game that had multiple changes in momentum. Ultimately, it was the Pirates who ended up on top.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said after the game that "We’re resilient and we keep playing and we keep grinding through things. We faced a really good pitcher today and we faced the back end of a really good bullpen and our guys continued to go and we took advantage of the opportunities that they gave us."
Alex Bregman gave the Astros the lead first, hitting a solo home run in the first inning to make it 1-0. Kyle Tucker doubled the lead an inning later, making it 2-0 with a solo shot of his own. In the bottom of the second, Jack Suwinski tied the game with yet another home run, making it 2-2 after two innings of play.
In the 6th inning, Choi gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead with a solo home run, then Ke'Bryan Hayes scored on a sac fly from Canaan Smith-Njigba to make it 4-2. In the top of the 9th inning, Chas McCormick tied the game for the Astros with a two run double. That set the stage for Bae in the bottom of the 9th, hitting the walk off 3 run home run to give the Pirates the win.
Shelton said of Bae's hitting that "There is definitely pop in there. At times, he’s like every young hitter and gets a little giddy. Then he’s able to come back and tone it back down. I think it’s still a work in progress throughout at-bats, learning what he can hit and what he can’t hit. He’s definitely working on it and he’s getting better."
Mitch Keller got the start for the Pirates, allowing two runs and striking out 7 hitters in 6 innings pitched. Duane Underwood Jr and Colin Holderman each pitched scoreless innings, with David Bednar getting the win despite blowing the save in the 9th inning.
It was Cristian Javier who started for the Astros, getting charged with 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 strikeouts in 6 innings pitched. Ryne Stanek and Rafael Montero came next in relief, with each throwing scoreless innings. Ryan Pressly got the loss, getting just one out and allowing the walk off homer in the 9th inning.
Houston manager Dusty Baker said of the loss that "We were riding so high one moment, and the next moment they are celebrating. We had a lot of opportunities to bust games open late. We’re one hit away, one pitch away. We’ve just got to keep plugging. That’s all you can do, but this one hurts."
The series concludes on Wednesday afternoon as both teams go for the series win. Rich Hill gets the start for the Pirates, with Jose Urquidy starting for the Astros.
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