PITTSBURGH -- In his young Major League career, Nick Gonzales has shown an acute knack for delivering in the clutch. He delivered a walk-off winner twice last year, and going by Win Probability Added, he was the second-most valuable hitter on the 2024 Pirates behind Bryan Reynolds.
So with the bases full of Bucs and one out in a tie game Friday, Gonzales was a perfect candidate to send the crowd home happy. It was a chance to remind everyone why he was such a part of last year’s team after being on the injured list for most of this season.
It didn’t start off strong, chasing a Jordan Romano slider low and away for a swinging strike. Maybe that was the reminder, that even though he’s been in this spot before, you have to take a moment and remind yourself, “stay within yourself.”
“After my first swing, that’s my first ninth inning this year that I’ve been in since probably last year that the fans get loud and you have to slow things down,” Gonzales said. “After that first pitch, I try to slow it down, bring it back in and kind of let the adrenaline swing for me.”
That final swing was a deep drive to left field off another Romano slider. By Baseball Savant’s estimate, it would’ve been a home run in 12 ballparks, but not PNC Park. That was fine, because all Gonzales needed was a sacrifice fly to call it a night, driving home Adam Frazier to beat the Phillies, 5-4.
For the Pirates, it was a much-needed bounceback win after a soggy, rough night against the Astros on Thursday. Friday’s first pitch was also in a delay and had opportunities to go sideways quickly. Bailey Falter, who was coming off a 0.76 ERA in the month of May, was pulled in the fourth inning with four runs to his name. The Pirates were just 3-27 in games when the opponent scored first, and they fell behind early.
Instead, a group effort was enough to keep the Pirates in it. The bullpen pitched 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, with Chase Shugart, Caleb Ferguson and Dennis Santana each getting at four-plus outs before David Bednar made quick work of the Phillies in the ninth.
Henry Davis came off the bench to replace Endy Rodríguez, who was dealing with right elbow discomfort, and launched a game-tying two-run homer in the fourth inning. Reynolds also had a pair of equalizing RBIs in the first and third.
That set up Gonzales with a chance to be a hero, right after Frazier and Jared Triolo started the frame with singles and Isiah Kiner-Falefa laid down a perfect bunt up the line that just stayed fair for a single.
“Bases loaded, all the pressure is on,” manager Don Kelly said. “That's what you play the game for, to be in that moment. He lives for that. He loves those moments.”
“That’s every kid’s dream,” Gonzales said. “After that bunt, I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to come up to the plate.’ I was just trying to prepare, slow the heart down and lock in on my approach.”
It’s hard to argue with the result: his third career walk-off RBI, and the second against the Phillies, doing so on July 19 last season as well.
After returning this week from a non-displaced left ankle fracture, Gonzales is picking up right where he left off when he homered on Opening Day, his last swing before hitting the injured list.
“Baseball is kind of weird when you miss a lot of time,” Gonzales said. “It takes a few games to get back, especially at this level. That was nice.”
When he was rehabbing back from his ankle injury, Gonzales focused on the small victories he was experiencing along the way, like being able to hit or run again. Friday was a real, tangible victory, and like in that rehab process, he knows it wasn’t just the final swing that won it.
“It’s not me. It’s the guys,” Gonzales said. “Frazier had a great at-bat, [Triolo] had a great at-bat. Everyone was doing their part, and I was just blessed to be in the opportunity to kind of win the game. I don’t think it’s me. I think it’s the guys.”