Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago White Sox
PIT
Pittsburgh Pirates
70-75 · W2
CWS
Chicago White Sox
74-70 · L1
Pittsburgh Pirates beat Chicago White Sox 4-2 at Rate Field. Brandon Eisert earned the win; Davis Martin took the loss. Mason Montgomery recorded the save.
The Pirates broke open a 1-1 game with three runs in the seventh inning and held off the White Sox 4-2 at Rate Field. Brandon Eisert earned the win, and Mason Montgomery locked down the save. Davis Martin pitched five innings for Chicago, allowing one earned run on 68 pitches while recording just one strikeout. His ERA sits at 4.05. Martin surrendered a solo home run to Esmerlyn Valdez in the top of the fifth, tying the game at 1-1. Pittsburgh pulled ahead in the seventh. Rafael Flores Jr. singled to center, scoring Billy Cook and pushing Spencer Horwitz to third. Two batters later, Konnor Griffin lined another single to center, plating both Horwitz and Ronny Simon to make it 4-1. Chicago answered with a solo homer from Munetaka Murakami in the eighth, his 31st of the season, but the Pirates held the two-run cushion. The K model projected more punchouts than either starter delivered. Martin finished with one strikeout against his posted line. The NRFI model showed a Neutral lean, and the first inning produced scoring.
Davis Martin worked five innings and allowed one earned run but recorded just one strikeout on 68 pitches.
Konnor Griffin delivered the decisive blow with a two-RBI single in the seventh after Rafael Flores Jr. had given the Pirates the lead moments earlier.
Munetaka Murakami's 31st home run in the eighth cut the deficit to two but Chicago could not complete the comeback.
Linescore
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| CWS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
Scoring Summary
Esmerlyn Valdez homers (17) on a fly ball to right field.
Rafael Flores Jr. singles on a line drive to center fielder Tristan Peters. Billy Cook scores. Spencer Horwitz to 3rd.
Konnor Griffin singles on a line drive to center fielder Tristan Peters. Spencer Horwitz scores. Ronny Simon scores.
Sam Antonacci singles on a sharp ground ball to first baseman Spencer Horwitz. Braden Montgomery scores. Chase Meidroth to 3rd. Kyle Teel to 2nd.
Munetaka Murakami homers (31) on a fly ball to right center field.
Key Performers
Esmerlyn Valdez
PIT
1-2, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
Munetaka Murakami
CWS
1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
Konnor Griffin
PIT
1-4, 2 RBI
Rafael Flores Jr.
PIT
1-4, 1 RBI
Batting
| PIT | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Gonzalez 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Spencer Horwitz 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - |
| Ronny Simon PH | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Brandon Lowe 2B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - |
| Bryan Reynolds LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Oneil Cruz CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - |
| Jared Triolo 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Esmerlyn Valdez RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
| Billy Cook RF | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Konnor Griffin SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - |
| Nick Gonzales DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Rafael Flores Jr. C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Totals | 34 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| CWS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tristan Peters CF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - |
| Randal Grichuk LF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - |
| Munetaka Murakami 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | - |
| Chase Meidroth SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - |
| Kyle Teel C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - |
| Colson Montgomery 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - |
| Braden Montgomery RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | - |
| Edgar Quero PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Andrew Benintendi DH | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - |
| Sam Antonacci 2B | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - |
| Miguel Vargas DH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - |
| Totals | 33 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
Pitching
| PIT | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachar | 1.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 27-20 | 3.52 |
| Eisert (W, 3-2) | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 36-26 | 5.63 |
| Mlodzinski (H, 5) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10-8 | 3.87 |
| Soto, G (H, 12) | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17-11 | 3.08 |
| Doval | 0.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 26-14 | 4.20 |
| Ramírez (H, 9) | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4-3 | 3.12 |
| Weaver (H, 19) | 1.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17-13 | 2.65 |
| Montgomery, M (S, 11) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17-13 | 2.82 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| CWS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin (L, 9-7) | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 68-41 | 4.05 |
| Newcomb, S | 1.1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 42-26 | 2.71 |
| Murphy, C | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8-5 | 4.11 |
| Richards, T | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 26-18 | 3.33 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 |