Pirates blow Jose Quintana's strong start, early lead in 10-inning loss to Phillies

In what could be his final start for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jose Quintana walked to the home dugout — possibly for the last time — to a warm ovation from the PNC Park crowd of 26,946.

It showed the appreciation for what the 33-year-old left-hander meant to stabilizing the Pirates’ starting rotation, especially after he threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies before leaving with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning.

“I heard it and I enjoyed that time,” Quintana said. “It’s fun when you get ovations. It’s going to be a special memory for me and, you know, we’re really close. We battled this game a lot. I think at the end … we were so close.”

Quintana could only watch as the Pirates’ bullpen blew a two-run lead and Rhys Hoskins hammered Duane Underwood Jr.’s 0-2 cutter 410 feet to straightaway center for a two-run home run in the top of the 10th inning as the Phillies rallied for a 4-2 win Friday night.

Hoskins went 4 for 4 with three RBIs and a walk for the Phillies.

“Misses right down the middle to a guy that has 20 homers,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Underwood. “You just can’t do that. You have to execute pitches, and we did not do that after Quintana came out of the game.”

Quintana, an 11th-year veteran, signed a one-year, $2 million deal last fall with the promise that he would be given a shot to return to the starting rotation after being banished to the bullpen last year. Now, Quintana figures to be one of the Pirates’ top trade chips as Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline approaches.

Quintana allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four but was pulled with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning to fall one out shy of a quality start. He was 3-5 with a 3.50 ERA in 103 innings over 20 starts this season.

“It means a lot for me,” Quintana said. “I think the opportunity I got here to prove I (can) be a starter, that’s huge. That’s really good for my career. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m a Pirate right now. I have the jersey. … I like to face a good team. That’s a good team I faced and (we) were really close to (getting) that win. That’s all that matters. I know all the things around me happen right now but I’m just going to enjoy. I’ve been in this situation before. Just going to keep going and see what happens.”

The Pirates took an early lead despite a slow start. Kevin Newman, who went 3 for 5 for his second consecutive multi-hit game, hit a leadoff ground-rule double to the North Side Notch in left-center in the first inning but was left stranded at third.

Phillies lefty Bailey Falter struck out six consecutive batters before Newman doubled again with two outs in the third. Greg Allen followed with an RBI double down the left field line to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

Quintana retired the side in order in the second and third innings, when he struck out Odubel Herrera, caught a 98.8-mph line-drive comebacker by Johan Camargo and got Kyle Schwarber looking at a 92.1-mph fastball for a called third strike.

The Phillies singled to start each of the next two innings but Hoskins was stranded in the fourth and Matt Vierling was caught stealing on Tyler Heineman’s throw to Oneil Cruz in the fifth.

Quintana got in a jam with two outs in the sixth, however, when Hoskins drew a walk and advanced to third on Alec Bohm’s single to left. Quintana was pulled after J.T. Realmuto worked a full-count walk to load the bases. Yerry De Los Santos escaped unscathed by getting Nick Castellanos to fly out to center.

Ke’Bryan Hayes drove Falter’s 0-1 fastball 353 feet over the Clemente Wall for his fifth home run — and first since July 10 at Milwaukee — to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

“I think he’s hit a couple balls over the last three or four games with some impact,” Shelton said. “For one of them to get out is definitely encouraging.”

The Phillies rallied in the seventh, which started with a Vierling single to left. Lefty Manny Banuelos replaced De Los Santos but walked Herrera and gave up a two-out single to Schwarber off the Clemente Wall that scored Vierling to cut it to 2-1. With runners on first and third, the Pirates brought in Wil Crowe to face Hoskins, whose RBI single scored Herrera to tie the game at 2-2.

“We let a 2-0 lead slip away because we didn’t execute. We did not execute pitches,” Shelton said. “The guys who came out of the bullpen, Yerry came out and got the first guy, and after that, we did not execute pitches, and we have to be better than that.”

It didn’t help the Pirates’ cause that the Phillies won a pair of challenges at second base that turned into double plays. In the fourth, Diego Castillo was ruled safe at second before a review overturned the call on a Cruz lineout to first; in the seventh, Cruz was ruled safe at second on Yoshi Tsutsugo’s fly out to right but a review overturned that, too.

The Phillies threatened to score in the eighth, when Castellanos doubled and advanced to third on Vierling’s groundout to second, but Crowe got Bryson Stott to ground out to first to keep the game tied.

The Pirates loaded the bases in the eighth, when Newman singled, Hayes drew a two-out walk and Michael Chavis beat the throw on a chopper to third. Ben Gamel worked a seven-pitch at-bat against Jose Alvarado before going down swinging at a curveball.

All-Star closer David Bednar caught the ceremonial first pitch from retired Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as the Pirates celebrated their first-even Yinzerpalooza, an all-things Pittsburgh event that featured The Clarks playing a concert after the game.

With a tied game in the ninth, Bednar got Odubel Herrera swinging, pinch hitter Darick Hall to ground out to first and Schwarber looking at a called third strike on a full count. Phillies closer Seranthony Dominguez, however, retired the Pirates’ side in order.

Connor Brogdon did the same in the 10th to clinch the win.

That the Pirates blew what could be Quintana’s final start for them made the loss harder to swallow.

“Any time you go to extras and can’t pull away with the win, it’s super tough,” Newman said. “‘Q’ went out and threw a really good game for us. Bummed we couldn’t pull away with the win for him.”