Brandon Lowe hit a game-ending home run two batters after Rafael Flores Jr. went deep to tie it as the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for a 4-3 victory over the visiting Detroit Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.
Both home runs came off Tigers right-hander Kenley Jansen (3-5), with Lowe ending the game by going deep on a 1-2 cutter with two outs for his 27th of the season. It was the first time Jansen allowed multiple home runs in a relief appearance since May 2, 2025, when he gave up three to the Tigers as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
Flores’s game-tying home run with one out left Jansen with his fifth blown save of the season. It was Flores’ second home run of the game after entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh.
Paul Skenes gave up three runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh, while the four relievers held Detroit scoreless over the final 4 2/3 innings as left-hander Mason Montgomery (5-3) earned the win.
Kevin McGonigle drove in a pair of runs for the Tigers, while right-hander Jackson Jobe gave up one run on four hits over 5 1/3 innings.
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a single from Oneil Cruz, who was playing in his second game since returning from broken bones in his left hand.
McGonigle tied it 1-1 for the Tigers with a fly ball in the third inning. Detroit went up 3-1 in the fifth on an RBI single from Gleyber Torres and a run-scoring double from McGonigle. Torres was thrown out at home on McGonigle’s double.
Flores’ first home run of the game came in the seventh inning to get the Pirates within 3-2.
Skenes exited with one out in the fifth after 81 pitches. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner pitched five innings or fewer for the fifth consecutive start.
