Davis Schneider hits walk-off homer, Pirates lose 14-inning marathon

By the time the longest game of the season ended, the starting pitchers’ duel was but a distant memory and it had been eight-plus innings since the Pittsburgh Pirates got a hit.

Davis Schneider hit a two-out, two-run home run off Kyle Nicolas to lift the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-3 walk-off win in the 14th inning to end a three-hour, 46-minute marathon Friday night at Rogers Centre.

Nicolas retired the first two batters he faced in the 14th, but automatic runner Cavan Biggio advanced to third on Kevin Kiermaier’s groundout to first before Schneider sent a first-pitch fastball 370 feet to right for his seventh home run and the walk-off win.

It was the most innings played in a game in the major leagues this season and the Pirates’ longest game since a 15-inning, 7-6 loss at the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 24, 2018.

“You very rarely see a game that goes that long,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “You very rarely see a game where there’s not multiple runs scored in an inning. There were multiple innings in extra innings where no runs were scored. It was a pretty valiant pitching effort on both sides.”

The Pirates (26-31), who dropped to 5-3 in extra-inning games, went 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight runners. The teams had six hits apiece, although the Pirates’ final hit came in the sixth inning on a two-out single by Ke’Bryan Hayes.

Pirates lefty starter Bailey Falter tossed six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five to deliver his sixth quality start. After back-to-back, two-out walks, lefty reliever Aroldis Chapman stranded two runners in the eighth while David Bednar overcame a leadoff double in the ninth to send it to extra innings.

It marked the fifth time this season a Pirates starter has pitched six or more innings and allowed two or fewer hits, and the second time Falter has done so. Falter finished May with a 2.23 ERA and .193 batting average against in five starts.

Falter got help in the third when Ernie Clement hit a leadoff single to left but was out at second base on a laser throw by Bryan Reynolds to Nick Gonzales for the tag. Reynolds’ throw was clocked at 95 mph, harder than any pitch thrown to that point in the game. Falter, whose velocity didn’t touch 95 until the sixth inning, needed only six pitches to finish the third and eight to retire the side in the fourth.

The Pirates got back-to-back singles by Gonzales and Rowdy Tellez to start the fifth before Andrew McCutchen lined a two-out single to the left-center gap off Jose Berrios to drive in Gonzales for a 1-0 lead. That was the lone run allowed by Berrios, who gave up six hits without a walk and five strikeouts on 101 pitches.

Falter didn’t deal with a baserunner until the sixth, when Kiermaier singled to right and stole second. Danny Jansen drew a two-out walk to put the go-ahead run on base, but Falter threw five consecutive four-seamers inside and got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. swinging at at a 2-2 fastball above the strike zone to keep the Blue Jays scoreless.

“I thought it was a good opportunity to empty the tank, honestly,” Falter said. “I kind of had a feeling I was close to getting out of the game, so I was like, ‘All right, let’s rear back and let a couple eat and see what we can do.’ Thankfully, it worked out.”

Colin Holderman replaced Falter for the seventh, striking out Bo Bichette and getting Justin Turner to ground out to third before hitting George Springer with a pitch. Daniel Vogelbach followed with a pinch-hit double to deep center, where Ji Hwan Bae lost track of the ball and turned around to watch it bounce off the base of the wall for a double, then threw past the cutoff as Springer scored to tie the game at 1-1.

“I think it was something he lost into the twilight,” Shelton said, noting that it was hard to judge fly balls with the roof open.

Chapman retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth, getting Schneider to chase a full-count splitter in the dirt for the second out. But Jansen drew a full-count walk off Chapman, once again putting the go-ahead run on base for Guerrero.

This time, Guerrero drew a four-pitch walk. After a mound visit from Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin, Chapman got Bichette to hit a fly ball to right where Connor Joe made a sliding catch to end the inning.

Oneil Cruz drew a full-count walk off Yimi Garcia in the ninth, only to be picked off at first by Jansen on a 2-2 ball to Gonzales. First base umpire Charlie Ramos ruled Cruz safe on the slide back to the base, but the Blue Jays challenged the call and it was overturned when video review showed that Guerrero tagged his helmet before Cruz touched the bag. Garcia got Gonzales to pop up to second to end the frame.

“He was stealing. It looked like he got to the third step and didn’t think he had a good jump,” Shelton said. “At that point, he’s just got to go.”

In the ninth, Justin Turner drilled Bednar’s 2-2 splitter for a leadoff double that bounced off the warning track in left field. Bednar got Springer to ground out to second, Cavan Biggio looking at a 97-mph fastball at the bottom of the zone for a called third strike and Ernie Clement on a popup to short.

Nate Pearson retired the Pirates in order in the 10th, getting Rowdy Tellez and Yasmani Grandal to pop out and Bae looking at a called third strike. Kiermaier’s textbook sacrifice bunt to third advanced the automatic runner, Clement, to third base in the bottom of the 10th, but Hunter Stratton struck out Schneider and got Jansen to ground out to third.

Bae, the automatic runner, scored on a sacrifice fly for a 2-1 lead in the 11th when Bryan Reynolds was robbed of an extra-base hit when George Springer made a diving catch on a low liner to right field.

“That changed the game,” Shelton said. “That’s the best catch we’ve seen all year. He made an unbelievable play.”

The Pirates were one out away from a win when Justin Turner drew a four-pitch walk to put runners at first and second, and Springer followed with a game-tying single to center to score Danny Jansen.

Connor Joe started the 12th on second base as the automatic runner, advanced to third on Cruz’s groundout to first, then scored for a 3-2 lead when he beat the throw after Hayes hit a fly ball to center after Jansen couldn’t hold onto the ball while attempting to make the tag.

The Blue Jays tied it on Kiermaier’s sacrifice fly on a line drive to right field to score the automatic runner, Biggio. Carmen Mlodzinski then hit Schneider with a pitch before striking out Jansen.

Mlodzinski loaded the bases in the 13th with an intentional walk of Bo Bichette and a full-count walk of Springer before getting Biggio looking at a called third strike with a fastball on his eighth pitch to escape.

Finally, after Genesis Cabrera held the Pirates scoreless in the 13th and 14th, the Blue Jays won the battle of the bullpens when Schneider homered to finish the comeback win.

“This is a tough one to swallow, but that’s why we play 162,” Falter said. “We’ll get back out there tomorrow and we’ll get these guys.”