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DETROIT -- Konnor Griffin homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates recorded their first winning season in eight years with a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday in the final game for both teams.
Pittsburgh (82-80), which improved by 11 wins over 2025, hadn't finished with a record over .500 since going 82-79 in 2018.
Detroit, which made the postseason the previous two years, finished 76-86, an 11-win drop from 2025.
Griffin led off the game against River Ryan (0-1) with his sixth homer, and the Pirates doubled the lead in the second on an RBI single by Jake Mangum. Pittsburgh had the bases loaded with one out later in the inning, but Beau Brieske came out of the bullpen to get Griffin to hit into an inning-ending double play.
Pittsburgh increased the lead to 4-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth. Billy Cook's two-out double brought home Nick Gonzales, and Griffin followed with an RBI single.
Detroit got on the board with two homers off Antwone Kelly in the seventh.
Kevin McGonigle, who had Detroit's only hit in the first six innings -- a fourth-inning single -- led off with his 18th home run to make it 4-1. After Riley Greene grounded out, Eduardo Valencia homered for the second straight game.
The Tigers, though, didn't score again. Mason Montgomery pitched the ninth for his 18th save.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch removed McGonigle in the top of the eighth, allowing him to receive a standing ovation after a season that has made him the favorite for the American League Jackie Robinson Award.
The 21-year-old finished the season hitting .278 with 18 homers, 97 runs and 95 walks, becoming the fourth rookie to finish with 95 runs and 95 walks since 1947. He joins Jim Gilliam (1953), Joe Morgan (1965) and Aaron Judge (2017).
Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds started, but came out of the game in the third inning, allowing him to play in all 162 games this season.
Saturday's game
Justin Verlander made a teary farewell, accompanied by his 7-year-old daughter as he left a major league mound for the final time in the Tigers' 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Pirates on Saturday.
Valencia hit a game-ending, two-run homer off Montgomery (6-4) in a three-run ninth that included McGonigle's RBI groundout. Valencia became the first Detroit rookie with a walk-off homer while trailing since Lou Whitaker on July 28, 1978, according to Major League Baseball.
Verlander allowed two runs and five hits in 5• innings with one walk and six strikeouts in his 91-pitch outing. The 43-year-old right-hander was making his second start of the year and first since March 30 in a season derailed by a sore hip and hamstring injury.
After Brandon Lowe hit a foul popup starting the sixth, Hinch walked from the dugout toward the plate and pointed toward the seats. Genevieve Verlander, wearing a Tigers jersey with her dad's name and number, sprinted to the mound and hugged her father, who reached down to embrace her and started shaking and sobbing.
Verlander finished 266-159 in 557 starts with a 3.33 ERA and 3,560 strikeouts, eighth on the career list.
Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead on solo homers by Brandon Lowe in the fourth and Nick Gonzales.
Yates retiring
Two-time All-Star reliever Kirby Yates said he is retiring after making his first start Saturday in a 12-year big league career.
The 39-year-old Yates, who went undrafted out of junior college, shook hands with teammates and plate umpire Laz Diaz while leaving the field after pitching 1ª innings for the Pirates.
It was Yates' 518th appearance since debuting with Tampa Bay in June 2014, and he confirmed after the game that it was his last.
"This is it," he said. "Just didn't really want to say anything publicly before, until the end. It was great. It was an awesome day. Really cool thing to kind of be a part of, especially what's going on on the other side (Verlander). Seeing emotions on both sides was something you don't forget. It was a good day."
The right-hander pitched for the Rays, Yankees, Angels, Padres, Braves, Rangers, Dodgers and Pirates. He was an All-Star in 2019 with San Diego and 2024 with Texas. Yates was left off the Dodgers' postseason roster last season but did receive a ring as part of the World Series championship celebration.
Yates was born in Hawaii and went to high school there. He was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 26th round of the 2005 amateur draft out of high school, but did not sign. Four years later, he signed with Tampa Bay after going undrafted out of Yavapai College in Arizona.
Despite compiling a 3.19 ERA in 46 outings this season, Yates says he knows it's time to step away.
"I don't have anything left, let's put it that way," he said. "I've been running on fumes here for a while."