Flores, Lowe Lead Offensive Charge as Pirates Beat Red Sox

PITTSBURGH — Rafael Flores Jr. and Brandon Lowe homered to lead another big night for the Pirates’ offense in an 8-4 win over the Red Sox at PNC Park on Friday night.

Scoring Plays

Bottom 2nd, 1-0 PIT: Rafael Flores Jr. hit his third home run in the last two games with a solo home run to right field off Jake Bennett (7-6) to give the Pirates (60-64) the lead.

Bottom 4th, 4-0 PIT: The Pirates tacked on three more runs in a big fourth inning. Esmerlyn Valdez brought home a pair with a double to left field and Flores drove him in with a base hit to left.

Top 5th, 4-2 PIT: The Red Sox (65-57) struck for a pair of runs after Bubba Chandler (6-8) walked the first two batters of the inning. Andruw Monasterio knocked home a run with a base hit to right and Eric Sogard hit a sacrifice fly to center.

Bottom 5th, 7-2 PIT: Brandon Lowe came up clutch with a three-run home run to right off Jovani Morán with two outs.

Top 7th, 7-3 PIT: Nick Sogard singled home Jarren Duran off Camilo Doval to bring the Red Sox within four. Doval worked around traffic to hold Boston to just one run.

Bottom 7th, 8-3 PIT: Valdez hit a chopper down the third base line but Caleb Durbin threw the ball away. Bryan Reynolds hustled to score all the way from first base for a run off Alec Gamboa.

Top 9th, 8-4 PIT: The Red Sox recorded three straight two-out hits off Kirby Yates with Masataka Yoshida’s single bringing home a run.

Key Moments

With the Pirates up 1-0 in the fourth, center fielder Jake Mangum, shortstop Jared Triolo and catcher Henry Davis executed a perfect relay to prevent Boston from tying the game. Wilyer Abreu hit a double to right-center with two outs but the Pirates threw out Willson Contreras at home to preserve the lead.

After Esmerlyn Valdez struck out for the second out of the fifth, Brandon Lowe came up big with a three-run home run. The blast served as the dagger for Pittsburgh.

Player of the Game

Rafael Flores Jr. homered in his first at-bat of the game, giving a home run in three straight plate appearances dating back to a two-homer game on Thursday. By driving in two runs, he has eight RBI over his last two games. The 25-year-old recorded his first-career three-hit game.

Stat to Know

This is the first time the Pirates have won back-to-back games since beating the Cubs on July 26 and the Diamondbacks on July 27.

Notable Performances

• Bubba Chandler: 5.0 innings, four hits, two runs, two walks, five strikeouts, 87 pitches/57 strikes
• Rafael Flores Jr.: 3 for 4, one home run, two RBI, one run
• Brandon Lowe: 1 for 4, one home run, three RBI, one run
• Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 4, one double, three runs
• Esmerlyn Valdez: 1 for 4, one double, two RBI, one run

Noteworthy

• Nick Gonzales left the game in the fifth inning after he was hit by a pitch in the helmet. Jacob Gonzales pinch-ran for him. Gonzales is being treated for a facial contusion. His status is day to day.
• Mason Montgomery recorded the final out of the ninth for his fourth save of the season.
• Brandon Lowe’s 26 home runs are the most by a Pirate since Jack Suwinski led the team with 26 in 2023.
• Bubba Chandler has won each of his three starts in August. The right-hander has a 2.16 ERA so far this month.
• Ronny Simon extended his hitting streak to six games with a leadoff single in the fourth.
• The Pirates recalled OF Billy Cook and RHP Wilber Dotel from Triple-A Indianapolis. OF Jhostynxon Garcia was optioned to Indianapolis and RHP Yohan Ramírez was placed on the paternity list.

Up Next

RHP Jared Jones (2-4, 5.03 ERA) will start for the Pirates in a nationally-televised game on Saturday night. RHP Sonny Gray (14-3, 2.79 ERA) will be on the mound for Red Sox. First pitch: 7:15 p.m. ET on FOX/93.7 The Fan.

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