The Pittsburgh Pirates had the bases loaded but were trailing by a run when Edward Olivares hit a grounder up the middle in the bottom of the ninth inning. As he sprinted down the first-base line, Olivares saw Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson make a diving stop.

That only made Olivares run even harder.

“As soon as the ball passed the pitcher, I knew the shortstop had a chance of catching that ball,” Olivares said through translator Stephen Morales, “and that’s when I started going even faster to first base because I knew it was going to be a close play.”

Henderson made an errant throw to first, and Jack Suwinski and Connor Joe scored as the Pirates pulled off another thrilling walk-off win by beating the Orioles, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon before 20,652 at PNC Park and clinch the three-game series against the 2023 AL East champions.

Coupled with a 5-4 win in 11 innings Saturday, the Pirates scored their first back-to-back walk-off wins since Aug. 3-4, 2022, when they beat the Milwaukee Brewers.

After 10 games, the Pirates (8-2) are tied with the New York Yankees for the best record in baseball.

“It is beautiful, the results the last couple days,” said Olivares, who went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored as designated hitter. “It’s an example of the team playing together and playing good baseball.”

Errors had played a pivotal role to that point, so the ending was no surprise even though Henderson had made a spectacular stop in the seventh inning to rob Bryan Reynolds of a hit.

The Pirates got a fourth consecutive quality start, as Marco Gonzales allowed two runs on five hits, striking out four without a walk in six innings. Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer was even better, holding the Pirates to one unearned run on five hits without a walk and six strikeouts in seven innings.

“It does a lot for our confidence, especially as a pitcher, knowing that our offense is going to come through swinging,” Gonzales said. “Just being able to keep it close in games like that, I think it just gives us confidence. I think we’re just playing loose right now. We’re having fun. No one here is under too much stress. We’re all just enjoying the process right now.”

Jared Triolo started the third with a single to center and attempted to score when Oneil Cruz doubled off the bottom of the wall in right-center but was thrown out at the plate on the 8-4-2 relay.

Gonzales kept the Orioles scoreless through the first three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth. Adley Rutschman hit a leadoff single then scored when Ryan Mountcastle hit a line drive to left-center for a double to give Baltimore a 1-0 lead.

To make matters worse, Reynolds’ high throw nearly sailed over the 6-foot-7 Cruz, who snagged it but dropped the ball. Cruz turned toward the infield before circling back for the ball, an error that allowed Mountcastle to advance to third base. Anthony Santander singled to center to score Mountcastle and make it 2-0.

Another error put the Orioles in scoring position in the fifth. Jorge Mateo hit a two-out double to right but took third when Connor Joe bobbled and dropped the ball. Henderson worked a full count against Gonzales, who got him swinging at a fastball at the top of the strike zone to prevent another run.

The Pirates took advantage of an Orioles error to cut it to 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth. With Olivares at first, Triolo hit a comebacker to Kremer, whose errant throw to second to get the lead runner allowed Olivares to advance to third. Henry Davis’ sacrifice fly to right drove in Olivares.

Kremer got through the sixth on eight pitches, thanks to a pair of spectacular stops by his middle infielders. Reynolds hit a sharp grounder up the middle that saw Henderson cross the bag to make a diving snag and strong throw. Then Ke’Bryan Hayes hit one up the middle, only for Mateo make a diving stop behind second base and another great throw.

The Pirates turned to relievers Roansy Contreras and Jose Hernandez to hold the Orioles scoreless over the final three innings. Recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to replace lefty Ryan Borucki (left triceps), Hernandez had a 6 a.m. flight and was delayed in Detroit but struck out Henderson to end the eighth and got through the heart of the order in the ninth to earn the win.

“There’s not a lot that fazes this kid,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We’re talking about a Rule 5 pick that was here all year last year and went through some ups and downs, but the one thing I can say about him is he’s always prepared and he’s not scared.”

The Pirates were trailing 2-1 going into the ninth when Hayes hit a leadoff single to center off Orioles righty Yennier Cano. Suwinski followed with a line drive to right to put runners on the corners with no outs before Joe worked a seven-pitch, full-count walk to load the bases.

When Rowdy Tellez hit a short chopper down the first-base line, Hayes was ruled safe on the slide at home. The Orioles challenged the call, however, and it was overturned upon review when it showed that the throw to the plate for the forceout clearly beat Hayes’ slide.

Then Olivares hit Cano’s full-count sinker for a bouncer up the middle. Henderson made a diving stop for the forceout at second before throwing it past Mountcastle at first base.

“They play great defense. That’s something they’re really good at,” Suwinski said. “That’s a tough play, especially with Rowdy coming in and him trying to throw from a knee, I think. It’s tough to get that throw in, especially with ‘Oli,’ who runs pretty well and is busting it up the line.

“They’re a great team over there, so guys were playing hard throughout the whole game. It’s just not giving up. It’s a great sign. We have to keep that momentum going and keep playing hard.”

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