Jack Suwinski's 2-run home run and headfirst slide lift Pirates to win

With one swing, Jack Suwinski revived the Pittsburgh Pirates and started a rally. But it was his head-first slide into home plate that provided the game-winning run in a comeback victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Suwinski hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning, then slid under the tag of catcher Patrick Bailey to score on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s grounder to first in the ninth as the Pirates pulled off a 5-4 walk-off win Monday night before 13,921 at PNC Park.

“It was really close,” Suwinski said. “It’s really hard for me because I just tried to dive and slide as hard as far as I can to get in there, but I knew it was going to be close. I was just running with my head down, but I can see his body catching and turning, so if I just stay on the outside of that running lane and get my hand as far out and over as I can. … Even if he is going to slide over a little bit, give myself as much room to reach as possible, as quick as I can.”

Suwinski was an unlikely hero, as he spent the majority of the season in the minors and entered the game with a .103 batting average. But he had a pair of critical at-bats late in the game to spark a rally. It was the first time the Pirates won this season when trailing after eight innings, as they were 0-55 under such circumstances.

“I had no idea, no idea until just now,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “It’s tough to come back in situations like that, but finding ways and continuing to finish the game, find a way to continue to have good at-bats. Our offense has done that, finding ways to continue to have good at-bats. Maybe not coming through all the time, but they grind out at-bats and find a way to make it interesting.”

The Pirates were trailing by one run in the ninth when Andrew McCutchen drew a leadoff walk off Randy Rodriguez (3-3). McCutchen was replaced by pinch runner Alexander Canario, who scored the game-tying run when Joey Bart hit a two-strike single to left.

With runners on second and third — Suwinski had been hit by a pitch — Kiner-Falefa hit a grounder to first baseman Rafael Devers. A sliding Suwinski beat Devers’ throw to home and Bailey’s tag for the walk-off win. The Giants challenged the call, but it was upheld after review.

“Jack did a nice job of getting in there,” Kelly said. “On those plays, the catcher doesn’t have a lot of time to get up in front and give a huge lane. It looked like he was stepping back, too. It looked like he almost stepped on his hand as it was coming in. Jack did a good job of getting underneath it.”

It was a thrilling finish for the Pirates (49-64) after a sluggish start, as Johan Oviedo’s long-awaited return to the Pirates and 2025 debut was abbreviated. It lasted all of one inning. It marked Oviedo’s first major league start since Sept. 27, 2023. Since then, he has been sidelined by Tommy John surgery and a lat strain suffered in spring training.

Going through his pregame routine at PNC Park had Oviedo pumped.

“That’s one of the best parts of the day,” Oviedo said. “Felt the whole stadium, the whole vibe around the clubhouse. Just walked out there and felt that we’re in the big leagues again. So I was really excited.”

The 6-foot-6, 275-pound right-hander struggled to locate pitches in the zone and the Giants took advantage of three first-inning walks to take an early two-run lead. Where Oviedo had 13 strikeouts without a walk in the final three starts of his rehabilitation assignment — two at Double-A Altoona and one at Triple-A Indianapolis — he battled command issues and threw only 23 of 43 pitches for strikes. That forced the Pirates to turn to their bullpen, using four relievers to finish the final eight innings.

“Ovi is an intense person and got a little amped up there in the first,” Kelly said. “He started flying open and command wasn’t there, but really good to see him back on the mound healthy.”

Oviedo gave up a leadoff single to Heliot Ramos and issued back-to-back walks to Devers and Willy Adames to load the bases with no outs. Matt Chapman chased a fastball for a strikeout, but Dominic Smith singled to center to score Ramos and give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Casey Schmitt drew a full-count walk to drive in Devers to make it 2-0, but Oviedo struck out Jung Hoo Lee on a curveball and got Bailey swinging at a full-count slider to end the frame.

“Body-wise, my arm feels amazing,” Oviedo said. “It was more mental, emotions type of thing today. Trying to work on it, but overall, feels good. I have the confidence, just have to be more efficient next time.”

The Pirates cut it to 2-1 when Spencer Horwitz singled to left, reached second on Ramos’ fielding error, advanced to third on Tommy Pham’s groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Nick Gonzales in the bottom of the first.

They threatened to score again in the fourth, when McCutchen doubled to center and advanced to third on Chapman’s throwing error but was out at home plate when Devers fielded Suwinski’s grounder and threw to Bailey. With a pair of runners in scoring position, the 42-year-old Verlander froze Bart with a 97.8-mph fastball for a called third strike to protect San Francisco’s lead.

Kyle Nicolas allowed back-to-back walks to Adames and Chapman to start the fifth inning, and Jung Hoo Lee drove in both with a triple to right-center to increase the Giants’ lead to 4-1.

The Pirates couldn’t get much going against Verlander, who allowed one run on three hits and one walk with four strikeouts in five innings. Peguero drew a full-count walk off Carson Seymour to start the seventh and Suwinski worked a nine-pitch at-bat — fouling off five consecutive pitches — before crushing a 96.8-mph fastball down the middle 371 feet to the right field seats for a two-run homer to cut it to 4-3.

“Going in there and battling with two strikes and foul balls, those are all positive,” Suwinski said. “I know it doesn’t look like much in the moment, but everyone knows that when you foul off a couple, you’re seeing them pretty good, you’re competing. Everyone in the dugout can see it. That’s what we’ve been talking about a lot. It’s going in there and just being competitive.”