Pirates Find Their Spark: Lowe & Flores Bomb Boston Into Another Swoon

PITTSBURGH — The Pirates aren't just winning again. They're doing it with some serious thunder.

Brandon Lowe launched a three-run missile to right field in the fifth inning, rookie Rafael Flores Jr. homered for the third time in two days, and Pittsburgh roughed up the slumping Boston Red Sox, 8-4, on Friday night.

Lowe's blast off Jovani Moran broke the game open and made it 7-2, giving the Pirates consecutive wins for the first time since July 26-27. That's a drought worth celebrating — and Lowe made sure the party started early.

Flores opened the scoring with a solo shot off Jake Bennett in the second, following up his two-homer night in Miami with another bomb. The kid is absolutely locked in.

Rookie Esmerlyn Valdez ripped a two-run double in the third and later scored on a Flores single to make it 4-0. Lowe finished with three hits, Bryan Reynolds chipped in two, and the Bucs' bats made sure the Red Sox never had a real chance to breathe.

Boston's Slide Continues

The Red Sox have now lost six of seven after winning 28 of 36. They put a little scare into the ninth with runners on first and second and two outs, but Mason Montgomery shut the door for his third save.

Boston starter Jake Bennett dropped his fourth straight decision, surrendering four runs over four innings. Rookie Bubba Chandler earned his third straight win, limiting Boston to two runs and four hits over five with five strikeouts and two walks. Nick Sogard drove in two runs for the Sox, but it wasn't nearly enough.

Scary Moment for Gonzales

Not everything went smoothly for Pittsburgh. Third baseman Nick Gonzales took a pitch off the helmet from Moran in the fifth and had to leave the game. The Pirates called it a facial contusion and listed him as day-to-day.

Gonzales, who entered the day third in the NL hitting, went 0-for-2 and saw his average dip to .307. The 27-year-old has six homers and a career-high 53 RBI on the season.

Up Next

The Red Sox will try to right the ship Saturday night with RHP Sonny Gray (14-3, 2.79 ERA) on the mound, while the Pirates hand the ball to Jared Jones (2-4, 5.03).