McCann's 12th-Inning Single Saves Arizona After Pittsburgh's Wild Comeback

Pittsburgh erased a six-run deficit and tied it in the ninth, then watched Arizona steal it back in extras. James McCann singled to right in the 12th inning to score the go-ahead run, lifting Arizona to an 8-7 win on July 28.

Arizona looked like it was sleepwalking to a comfortable win for most of the night. The Diamondbacks jumped on Pittsburgh early and often — Moreno's groundout plated Perdomo in the first, a pair of runs crossed in the second on a fielder's choice and an infield single by Carroll, and Arenado singled home Moreno in the third to push it to 4-0. A Lowe fielding error in the fourth let another run score without a hit, and Moreno drove in McCann in the sixth to make it 6-0. Brandon Pfaadt was doing his part, working 7.0 innings, allowing 6 hits and zero earned runs while walking one and striking out four. Arizona appeared to be in full cruise control.

Then Pittsburgh decided it wasn't done. The Pirates chipped away with three runs in the eighth — O'Hearn doubled home Reynolds, a Rodríguez single scored O'Hearn, and an Ozuna infield single brought in Gonzales to make it 6-3. Still manageable for Arizona, until the ninth turned into something else entirely. Lowe crushed a two-run shot 415 feet to right center, cutting it to 6-5. Then Reynolds followed with a solo homer 402 feet to right center to tie it at six. That Reynolds blast swung Pittsburgh's win probability from 27% to 68% — a 41-point lurch that, for a moment, made this look like Pittsburgh's game to lose.

But extras have a way of punishing teams that can't hold leads, and both clubs obliged. In the tenth, errors by Pittsburgh shortstop Triolo and first baseman Locklear allowed Arizona to take a 7-6 lead, only for Triolo to ground into a fielder's choice that scored Rodríguez on a Locklear error to tie it again at seven. It was the kind of inning that looks like a fever dream in a box score. Arizona's Gerardo Carrillo had already thrown 2.0 scoreless innings of relief — no hits, one walk, three strikeouts — keeping the Diamondbacks alive long enough for McCann to end it. McCann, who went 4-for-6 on the night, singled to right in the 12th to score Locklear and give Arizona the 8-7 final. The story of the night was Pittsburgh's stunning resilience — and Arizona's stubborn refusal to let it matter.