Pirates whiff in 9th-inning rally as Blue Jays pull off 3-game series sweep

Jordan Romano started the ninth inning with a one-run lead before back-to-back singles by Jack Suwinski and Cal Mitchell put the winning run in scoring position for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Toronto Blue Jays closer then recorded three consecutive strikeouts to finish off a 4-3 win and three-game series sweep Sunday afternoon before 14,903 at PNC Park. It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Pirates, who were outscored by a combined 18-5 in those games.

Suwinski led off the ninth inning with a single to left, then raced to third when Mitchell grounded through the left side against a defensive shift to put runners on first and third. The Pirates replaced Mitchell with speedy pinch runner Greg Allen, who promptly stole second base to put the go-ahead run in scoring position.

Romano got Josh VanMeter swinging at a 98-mph fastball and Tucupita Marcano at an 88-mph slider for back-to-back strikeouts, then pinch hitter Kevin Newman waving at a 90-mph slider for the final out.

“We’ve got to put the ball in play,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We’re talking about an elite closer there, but we get into a situation where Suwinski and Mitchell do a good job, Jack does a good job running the bases, Greg gets to second. We’ve got to find a way to make contact. I understand the execution of pitches by Romano and he’s really good, but we’ve got to give ourselves a chance and we didn’t.”

For the second consecutive game, the Blue Jays broke open a tied game in the seventh inning against reliever Duane Underwood Jr., who has allowed four runs on six hits and two walks with one strikeout over 1 2/3 innings in his past two appearances.

Danny Jansen got a leadoff single to left, advanced to second on Matt Chapman’s single to right, reached third when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded into a double play and scored on a single up the middle by Teoscar Hernandez to take a 4-3 lead.

“It was a matchup thing and we didn’t execute a pitch,” Shelton said. “We threw an 0-2 pitch right down the middle. We got the double play ball from Vladdy and we got Teoscar in an advantage count, and we did not execute a pitch. We threw an 0-2 pitch right down the middle, and he’s too good a hitter to do that to. We have to execute a better pitch there.”

It could have been worse. Kirk singled to put runners on the corners for Bichette, who hit a line drive to left-center that Suwinski robbed with a diving catch.

The game marked the first start for Pirates right-hander JT Brubaker since the birth of his first child, a son named Jett Allen. After missing a scheduled start Aug. 29 at Milwaukee, Brubaker allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

“There was a little rust, just a little mechanical things; where the arm might be and stuff,” Brubaker said. “(I left) some balls up. Just to be able to go out there and pitch with what I had and give the team a chance to win, I was happy with it. I’ll continue to move forward and get back in the groove I was before I left.”

The Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Whit Merrifield drilled a single past Oneil Cruz at shortstop to score Bichette. They increased their advantage in the third, when Guerrero Jr. reached on an errant throw by third baseman Rodolfo Castro, stole second base and and scored on Alejandro Kirk’s single to right to make it 2-0. Cavan Biggio’s solo home run to lead off the fourth, a 342-foot shot to right, gave the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead.

At that point, Toronto right-hander Ross Stripling had held the Pirates without a hit. He was in control but lost command, walking Ben Gamel and Mitchell before giving up a two-out double to VanMeter to score both baserunners to cut it to 3-2.

Cruz tied the game with a 115.8-mph laser beam that traveled 427 feet into the visiting bullpen for his 12th home run. Where Shelton was impressed with the left-handed Cruz’s ability to go opposite field, Brubaker couldn’t believe its trajectory off a 16-degree launch angle.

“I was sitting there and I watched that ball go,” Brubaker said. “I honestly didn’t think it had the height to get over the fence. It honestly kept climbing. It looked like someone hit a two-iron. The ball kept climbing. It was really impressive to watch the ball backspin that way.”