Palacios celebrates his birthday with a 2-run walkoff homer, Pirates rally twice to beat Phillies

By: Wes Crosby, The Associated Press Posted: 4:29 PM CDT Sunday, Jul. 30, 2023 Last Modified: 5:02 PM CDT Sunday, Jul. 30, 2023

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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Palacios hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied twice from two runs down to beat the Phillies 6-4 on Sunday and clinch the three-game series.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/07/2023 (820 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With Jared Triolo on as the automatic runner, Palacios led off the 10th by driving a slider from Andrew Vasquez (2-1) 367 feet to right. He celebrated his 28th birthday with his second homer of the season as the Pirates (47-58) took two of three from the Phillies (56-49), who fell a half-game behind in the hunt for the third NL wild card.

Palacios, who went 3 for 5, is the first Pirates player to hit a walkoff home run on his birthday, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Pittsburgh Pirates' Josh Palacios (54) celebrates as he approaches home plate after hitting a two-run walk-off home run off Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Andrew Vasquez during the tenth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, July 30, 2023. The Pirates won 6-4. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

“After I hit that ball, I think I blacked out,” Palacios said. “I don’t know. I still might be blacked out right now. … Best birthday I can ask for, aside for probably my first birthday, coming into this Earth.”

Alec Bohm singled to start the 10th for Philadelphia and went to second on a throwing error by Triolo, putting automatic runner Bryce Harper on third. Harper hesitated to run when Trea Turner flew out to right, ultimately charging home when catcher Endy Rodriguez threw to second with Bohm scrambling back to the base. Nick Gonzales’ throw back to Rodriguez beat Harper for the second out. Angel Perdomo (2-1) struck out Edmundo Sosa to end the threat.

“I’ve seen us play better, that’s for sure,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “We have to clean it up. We made some fundamental mistakes. … We have to clean it all up and we will.”

With two outs in the seventh, Harper bounced a 2-2 pitch down the first-base line that kicked off the glove of Connor Joe, who attempted a diving stop at first. Backup catcher Garrett Stubbs scored to break a 2-2 tie before Bohm tacked on another run with an RBI single.

“When talent doesn’t play well or play smart, you get beat,” Harper said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, it’s still professional baseball.”

Bryan Reynolds cut the deficit to 4-3 on a single in the seventh, with Joe scoring on an error by rookie Johan Rojas in center. Triolo singled off Yunior Marte to start the eighth before advancing to third on Palacios’ double and scoring the tying run on a sacrifice to right from Nick Gonzales.

Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez did not allow a hit in five innings, lowering his ERA to 2.66 this season. The 26-year-old left-hander struck out three, walked two and hit three others before being pulled after 73 pitches (46 strikes) with an upset stomach.

“I had a little stomachache going on. I didn’t feel like I had much energy today,” Sánchez said. “I think I did a good job. Even if I don’t feel well because I have something going on, I’m going to go out and compete.”

After Sánchez exited, Joe sent a leadoff single trickling through the right side of the infield off Seranthony Domínguez. Reynolds followed with his 12th home run of the season, belting a fastball 418 feet to right-center field to tie it 2-all.

“Our guys kept going,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We were getting no-hit through five. We get the base hit, Bryan gets the homer. We just continued to play and made good plays.”

Pittsburgh Pirates' Josh Palacios dances down the third baseline after hitting at two-run, walk-off home run off Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Andrew Vasquez during the tenth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, July 30, 2023. The Pirates won 6-4. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Bohm had three RBIs, giving the Phillies a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the fourth that went 396 feet to right-center field off a first-pitch changeup from Rich Hill, who gave up five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in five innings.

UP NEXT

Phillies: RHP Taijuan Walker (11-4, 4.06) will be called upon Monday to start a four-game road series against the Marlins. Walker is 0-1 in his past two starts since winning seven straight.

Pirates: RHP Johan Oviedo (4-11, 4.60) will take the mound Tuesday in the first of a two-game series against the Tigers. Oviedo has allowed one run in two of his past three starts after surrendering 13 combined his previous two outings.

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