Nick Gonzales beat the tag at home plate and scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates picked up an 8-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday in Arlington, Texas.
Gonzales came home on pinch hitter Jake Mangum’s slow roller to third base. Jalen Beeks then replaced Cole Winn (1-1) on the mound, and Oneil Cruz greeted the new reliever with a three-run homer off the top of the right field foul pole.
The ninth-inning rally allowed Pittsburgh to even the three-game series at one victory apiece.
Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft scattered four hits, gave up two runs, walked two and struck out five in a seven-inning, 94-pitch outing. Gregory Soto (1-0) blew a lead by allowing two runs in his lone inning, but he emerged with the win.
Bryan Reynolds collected two hits and two RBIs and Spencer Horwitz added two hits for the Pirates.
Josh Jung had a two-run homer and a single for the Rangers.
With Pittsburgh up 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Pinch hitter Andrew McCutchen led off with an infield single. Brandon Nimmo hit a one-out double, and Jake Burger’s two-out single drove in both runners to tie the game.
The Pirates used a two-out rally in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Reynolds doubled to the gap in left field and scored on Marcell Ozuna’s line-drive single to left.
In the second, Jung’s opposite-field, two-run shot down the right field line scored Joc Pederson, and the Rangers led 2-1.
In the fifth, Brandon Lowe’s two-out RBI single scored Horwitz and tied the game at 2-2.
Reynolds then singled to drive in Henry Davis. However, Nimmo’s throw from right field was well off target and up the third base line. As Rangers starting pitcher Jack Leiter backed up the play, he tripped over Pittsburgh hitters’ equipment in the on-deck circle.
Lowe scored on the throwing error and the Pirates took a 4-2 lead. Leiter remained in the game after a few warmup pitches and finished the inning. He wound up allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings.
