Lowe's Three-Run Blast Buries Boston, Pirates Roll 8-4

Brandon Lowe's 375-foot three-run homer in the fifth inning swung Pittsburgh's win probability from 84% to 96%, turning a competitive game into a foregone conclusion. The Pirates never trailed, cruising to an 8-4 final over Boston on August 14.

Pittsburgh wasted no time establishing control. Rafael Flores Jr. opened the scoring in the second with a 371-foot shot to right, and the Pirates kept building from there. In the fourth, Esmerlyn Valdez doubled to left, scoring Reynolds and Simon to push the lead to 3-0, and Flores Jr. followed immediately with a single to left that plated Valdez — suddenly it was 4-0 before Boston's starter had recorded an out in the inning. Jake Bennett finished his night having allowed 4 earned runs on 5 hits across 4.0 innings, and the story of the night was that Pittsburgh's offense had already done its damage before Boston could even organize a response.

Boston did claw back in the fifth. A Monasterio single scored Durbin, and Sogard's sacrifice fly to center brought in Duran, trimming the deficit to 4-2 and giving the Red Sox a pulse. That pulse lasted about three batters. Lowe stepped in and launched a 375-foot homer to right, scoring Gonzalez and Reynolds with it — a three-run shot that pushed Pittsburgh to 7-2 and sent the win probability surging from 84% to 96%. That was the ballgame in every meaningful sense. Bubba Chandler had already done his job, going 5.0 innings and allowing just 2 earned runs while striking out 5, and the Pittsburgh bullpen held the line from there.

Boston made it cosmetically respectable in the late innings. Sogard singled to center in the seventh to score Duran, and Pittsburgh added an insurance run the same inning when Reynolds scored on a throwing error by Boston third baseman Durbin — a gift that pushed the lead to 8-3. Yoshida's ninth-inning single to right scored White for the final margin of 8-4, but by then Alec Gamboa had already thrown 3.0 scoreless innings of relief for Boston, which looks like too little, too late from a bullpen that couldn't be deployed until the damage was done. Flores Jr. finished 3-for-4 with a homer, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Reynolds crossed the plate three times. Pittsburgh's offense was deep, relentless, and never needed a second gear.