Bucs avoid ugly loss in victory

NL baseball

PITTSBURGH -- Brandon Lowe scored from third when San Francisco third baseman Oseilvis Basabe short-hopped a throw to first with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Giants 13-12 on Tuesday night.

Lowe led off the ninth against Carson Seymour (0-1) with his fourth hit of the night, before eventually moving to third on a single by Nick Gonzales and a fielder's choice by Oneil Cruz.

Pittsburgh backup catcher Rafael Flores Jr. then laced a hard grounder to third that Basabe picked cleanly, only to see his throw to first get away from first baseman Rafael Devers.

Lowe's four-hit night included his 29th home run of the season. Cruz had four hits and drove in four runs for Pittsburgh, which recovered later after blowing a six-run lead.

The Pirates have won five of seven despite allowing the Giants to rally to tie it at 12 thanks to a five-run eighth, the final two runs scoring on Drew Cavanaugh's double.

Gonzales had three hits for Pittsburgh to boost his batting average to .310. Spencer Horwitz and Jacob Gonzalez added two hits each for the Pirates.

Mason Montgomery (6-3) worked around two hits in the ninth to keep the game tied and put Pittsburgh in position to win it.

The late heroics hardly seemed necessary after the Pirates erupted for nine runs in the third. Bryan Reynolds led off with a single against Logan Webb, and the Pirates spent the next 34 minutes chipping away against Webb and reliever Braxton Roxy behind eight singles, two walks and a hit batter.

Reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, who has endured a bit of a slog during his third season in the majors, gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings. He failed to lock down his first win since mid-July when he allowed consecutive two-out hits in the fifth and was removed after throwing 95 pitches. The right-hander allowed five runs on eight hits with three walks and four strikeouts as his ERA ticked up to 3.97.

Turner Hill had four hits for San Francisco. Cavanaugh finished with three and Christian Koss added two hits for the Giants, who fell to a National League-worst 24-46 on the road.

Moving on up

Additionally, infielder Konnor Griffin (left hand ring finger sagittal band injury) had his rehab assignment transferred from Double-A Altoona to Indianapolis.

The 20-year-old Griffin, who played in his last Major League game on July 5 at Washington, went 1-for-3 in his only rehab game with the Curve, which came on Sunday vs. Erie. The Pirates recalled left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert from Triple-A Indianapolis and selected the contract of catcher Christian Bethancourt from Indianapolis on Tuesday.

Roster moves

Catcher/first baseman Endy Rodriguez, who underwent left hip labrum surgery on Aug. 26, was transferred from the 10- to the 60-day injured list to make room for Bethancourt on the 40-man roster, which remains full.

The 28-year-old Eisert, who was acquired from the White Sox in a three-player trade on July 10, has eight strikeouts in seven games with Pittsburgh. He has posted a 2.08 ERA with 18 strikeouts, a .093 batting average against and a 0.54 WHIP in his 10 appearances with Indianapolis.

The 34-year-old Bethancourt, who was acquired from the Yankees for cash considerations and assigned to Indianapolis on Aug. 19, has hit a combined .270 with nine doubles, 14 home runs, 45 RBI, an .811 OPS and 35 runs scored in 67 minor league games split between the Cubs and Yankees organizations this season.

Bethancourt, who had been on the Pirates' Major League taxi squad since his acquisition, has batted .229 with 60 doubles, 35 home runs, 135 RBI and 149 runs scored in 428 career Major League games split between Atlanta (2013-15), San Diego (2016-17), Oakland (2022), Tampa Bay (2022-23), Miami (2024) and Chicago-NL (2024).

Up next

The series continues tonight. Landen Roupp (8-13, 4.25 ERA) starts for the Giants against Pittsburgh's Bubba Chandler (6-9, 4.26).