San Francisco Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates

PITTSBURGH – The Pirates are in survival mode. As September begins, they’ll take wins any way they can. Even if that meant blowing a six-run lead after a night of historic offense.  “Eventful is a good way to put it,” manager Don Kelly said. Pittsburgh almost dealt with a catastrophic loss, one that would’ve virtually ended its postseason hopes in the form of morale. On a wacky night that included a duel of aces going sour, a nine-run inning with no extra-base hits and a strong bullpen faltering, the Pirates walked it off in a fitting way: a throwing error.  Rafael Flores Jr. walked it off with an infield error from Osleivis Basabe for the Pirates’ 13-12 win on Tuesday night at PNC Park. The victory was Pittsburgh’s third straight – its first three-game winning streak since right before the All-Star break – and a positive start to a six-game homestand in which the Pirates play two of the worst teams in baseball in the Giants and Angels. “It's awesome. I mean, it's kind of what you live for,” Flores said. “You want to play games like that. I'm assuming that's what playoffs are like. You know, just tight-knit games and team-effort wins, and it's kind of just preparing us to get there.” Coming off its fourth series win in its past five, Pittsburgh seemed to be continuing its surge. With Logan Webb and Paul Skenes on the mound, a low-scoring affair would’ve made more sense. Instead, the outcome marked the first time since 1950, and the third all time, in which both teams scored 12-plus runs in a game started by All-Stars that season. Skenes fell into trouble in the second inning, allowing five runs. But Webb’s outing became a nightmare in the third inning. In that frame, the Pirates tallied nine runs on nine hits with no extra-base hits. Kelly described it as the best offensive inning for Pittsburgh in “a long time” when it came to the pass-the-baton mentality.