Brandon Lowe raced home from third base on a throwing error by substitute third baseman Osleivis Basabe with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, allowing the Pittsburgh Pirates, after blowing a six-run lead, to outlast the visiting San Francisco Giants 13-12 on Tuesday night.
Lowe led off the ninth against the fifth Giants pitcher, Carson Seymour (0-1), with his fourth hit of the game, a single, then advanced a base at a time on a Nick Gonzales single and an Oneil Cruz infield out.
Seymour, who dropped a throw at first base that could have completed an inning-ending double play on Cruz’s grounder, then got Rafael Flores Jr. to ground to third. Basabe, who had moved over from second base an inning earlier, made a nice stop, but then threw low to first, a ball Rafael Devers was not able to catch, ending the marathon game.
Mason Montgomery (6-3), who pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, was credited with the win.
Up 5-2 in the second inning and down 11-5 in the fifth, the Giants set up their late downfall with a five-run eighth. Drew Cavanaugh had a two-run double and Nate Furman had a game-tying, two-run single in the rally.
The expected pitchers’ duel between three-time All-Stars Logan Webb of the Giants and Paul Skenes of the Pirates never materialized.
After the Pirates (68-71) had scored twice in the first, the Giants (57-82) got the merry-go-round in high gear with a five-run second that featured a three-run homer by Devers, his 31st of the season.
The Pirates responded with a nine-run third, featuring five singles and two walks by the first seven batters Webb faced in the inning. When Spencer Horwitz and Lowe greeted Braxton Roxby with back-to-back hits, the Pirates had gone one complete turn of the lineup without recording an out, collecting seven singles and two walks.
When Cruz, who had driven in the inning’s first run with a single, plated a pair with a second single, the Pirates led 11-5.
Webb was charged with nine runs on nine hits in two-plus innings. He walked two and struck out one.
Skenes settled down after the five-run second, shutting out the Giants and retaining the 11-5 lead until getting pulled with two on and two out in the fifth. He handed the ball to Yohan Ramirez, who got Shay Whitcomb to pop up to end the inning.
One out away from being eligible for his first win since July 19, Skenes allowed five runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out four, throwing 95 pitches.
Cruz joined teammate Lowe with a four-hit night and had a career-high-tying four RBIs for the Pirates, who won their third in a row. Horwitz, Gonzales and Jacob Gonzalez chipped in with two hits apiece.
Turner Hill had four hits, Cavanaugh three, and Jonah Cox and Christian Koss two apiece for the Giants, who were attempting to win a third game in three days at three different locations.