Rockies overcome another deficit, rally with 6-run 6th inning to clinch series win over Pirates

For the Pittsburgh Pirates, the best way to recover from blowing a nine-run cushion in a loss to the Colorado Rockies on Friday night was to have two-time All-Star Paul Skenes start Saturday afternoon.

Liover Peguero provided the pop to provide the Pirates a four-run lead, and Skenes served as the salve by striking out eight through the first five innings.

But the Rockies had another rally in them.

The Rockies proved that no lead is safe at Coors Field, as Jordan Beck’s three-run home run off Skenes sparked a six-run sixth inning on the way to an 8-5 win.

It was another deflating defeat for the Pirates (47-64), who dropped their second consecutive game to the Rockies (30-80), who own baseball’s worst record and improved to 16-38 at home. The Rockies rallied from a nine-run deficit and scored five runs in the ninth for a 17-16 win Friday.

“It’s tough,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “You’ve got to find a way to bounce back. I thought we did a good job of that today. ‘Peggy’ started off with a homer, got another one with the three-run (shot). We had some good at-bats. We’ve got to find a way to get a W.”

It was a homecoming for Skenes, who attended the U.S. Air Force Academy for two years. The 6-foot-6 right-hander cruised through the first five innings but didn’t record an out in the sixth, when he was tagged for four earned runs.

“It was nice to be back,” Skenes said. “It was a good day, for five innings.”

Peguero had his first career multi-homer game, going deep three times to account for five RBIs. The first came on Rockies lefty Austin Gomber’s third pitch, a 2-0 fastball over the middle, driving it 410 feet to left field for a leadoff homer to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

“I’m looking to do damage,” Peguero said. “If you can do it once, you can do it twice or three times.”

Skenes struck out five of the first 10 batters he faced, including four consecutive at one point, before Beck singled in the fourth and Warming Bernabel doubled off the top of center fielder Oneil Cruz’s glove to put runners on second and third with one out.

Thairo Estrada hit a dribbler that Skenes fielded and threw to catcher Henry Davis, who tagged out Beck at home plate. Then Skenes escaped by getting Brenton Doyle — whose two-run walk-off homer clinched Friday’s win — to go down swinging at a 99.8-mph sinker for a strikeout.

After Jared Triolo drew a leadoff walk and Isiah Kiner-Falefa reached on a fielding error by shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, Peguero pulled a 2-2 knuckle-curve to left field for a three-run homer and 4-0 lead in the fifth.

“That was sick, to see him have the at-bats he had, the three home runs and stay in it,” Kelly said of Peguero.

The Rockies finally got to Skenes, knocking him out in the sixth when he struggled with his command. After Mickey Moniak hit a leadoff single to right and Tovar drew a full-count walk, Beck sent a first-pitch sinker 394 feet and off the top of the right-field wall for his 13th homer to cut the Pirates’ lead to 4-3.

“They had a couple good at-bats,” Skenes said. “Obviously, I can’t walk someone and give up a home run. But, at the end of the day, it was one pitch that they executed on that I didn’t.

When Bernabel doubled to left, the Pirates pulled Skenes and brought in rookie righty Braxton Ashcraft. Estrada singled to right to put runners on the corners and Doyle drove in Bernabel with a game-tying single. Austin Nola knocked in the go-ahead run with a bloop double down the right-field line and Orlando Arcia’s groundout to second scored Doyle to give the Rockies a 6-4 lead.

“They got some base hits there in some big situations,” Kelly said. “Nola moved that one forward with a bloop down the line, Tovar with the swinging bunt. All in all, I thought he threw the ball pretty well. Threw strikes, got after guys. They found a way to put the ball in play.”

The Rockies increased their advantage to 7-4 in the seventh, when Tovar hit a leadoff single, stole second base and advanced to third on Davis’ throwing error then scored on a single to center by Bernabel.

The game endured a 64-minute rain delay before the start of the eighth inning. After Arcia hit a two-out solo homer to give the Rockies an 8-4 lead and Moniak doubled, the Pirates pulled lefty Genesis Cabrera.

That marked the return of righty reliever Dauri Moreta to the majors for the first time since October 2023 after recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he got Tovar to fly out to second for the final out.

“Great to get him back out there,” Kelly said. “The road that he’s traveled to get back to the big leagues has been a long one. I’m happy for him. He threw the ball well.”

Rockies closer Seth Halvorsen injured his right arm on the fifth pitch of the first at-bat in the ninth, leaving with a full count against pinch hitter Spencer Horwitz. After Horwitz drew a walk, Kiner-Falefa grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Peguero followed with a 390-foot blast to left-center to cut it to 8-5, his fourth homer on the road trip.

“I’m very, very proud,” Peguero said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win. I think we did everything we could out there. I’m just very happy that I did what I did out there and looking forward to keep doing it.”