Philadelphia’s Didi Gregorious ran home when Pittsburgh’s Michael Chavis’ ambitious first-to-third pitch early in the 10th inning went wide of the target, helping the Phillies beat the Pirates 2-1 on Saturday.
Philadelphia’s Rhys Hoskins led off the 10th inning with a hard groundout to Chavis at first base. Instead of stepping on the bag for one out, Chavis tried to cut off Gregorious as he ran from second to third.
The pitch handcuffed Pittsburgh third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and rolled into foul territory, allowing Gregorious to slide and run across the plate to put the Phillies in front.
Corey Knebel (3-5) earned the win by pitching two scoreless innings. He started the top of the 10th by getting Pirates rookie Oneil Cruz out at second base, then retired the last two batters as Philadelphia matched a season high by spending seven games over .500 (54-47 ).
JT Realmuto had two of Philadelphia’s six hits, including his 10th home run of the season leading off the sixth.
Pittsburgh’s Cal Mitchell tied the game in the seventh inning with his fourth home run, hitting José Alvardo’s 99 mph fastball into the right field seats. Chavis had two singles for the Pirates, who were limited to four hits. Yerry De Los Santos took the loss (0-3). The Pirates have lost six straight and 11 of 13.