Brandon

Lowe

Lowe hit a three-run homer off Red Sox reliever Jovani Morán in the fifth inning to push the Pirates’ lead to 7-2. It was the 26th homer of the season for Lowe, who has now homered three times in August. He’s slashing just .191/.255/.319 on the month but at least the power is there.

Lowe ambushed a first-pitch curveball from Rhett Lowder for a 402-foot (103.4-mph EV) solo shot in the sixth inning that tied the game at 2-2. That would be his lone hit in the contest. On the season, the 32-year-old slugger is slashing a solid .253/.320/.490 with 23 homers and 70 RBI in 450 plate appearances.

The homer was a two-run shot off Paul Sewald in the ninth, and Bryan Reynolds then followed with a solo blast to tie the game. The Pirates, though, couldn’t finish off their impressive comeback, losing the game in 12. Lowe is 8-for-14 with four extra-base hits the last three days, so it seems his slump is over. He hit .218/.269/.378 with 54 strikeouts in his previous 39 games.

Lowe had the day off on Saturday with the Pirates facing Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga. Since then, he’s had three hits in back-to-back games. On Monday, he singled to get the Pirates on the board in the sixth inning, doubled in the eighth inning and hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning. Lowe is hitting .251 with a .797 OPS and 67 RBI, which leads all second basemen.

Lowe takes a seat with lefty Shota Imanaga taking the ball for Chicago in this one. It’ll be Nick Gonzales taking over at the keystone and hitting second in this one. The 32-year-old veteran has managed to stay mostly healthy and has put together an outstanding Pirates debut with 21 homers and 65 RBI across 427 plate appearances.

Lowe will get a rare day off with left-hander Joey Cantillo toeing the slab for the Guardians. Nick Gonzales will slide over and cover second base while Jared Triolo starts at the hot corner and will bat second for the Pirates on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.

This was an unusual effort from Lowe, who entered the night with 21 homers and 20 doubles among his 80 hits. He went without an extra-base hit tonight, though. For the first time in 13 months and sixth time in his career, he singled three times in a game. It was his first three-hit game of any kind since May 7. He’s hitting .247/.320/.500 on the year, and though he’s not an All-Star, he is one of about a half-dozen NL second basemen who would have deserved to start at the position for the American League side.

Lowe capped off a five-run uprising in the eighth inning with his 396-foot (107.6-mph EV) three-run shot off of Brad Lord that increased the Pirates’ advantage to 9-4. That would be his only hit in the contest. For the season, the 31-year-old slugger is now slashing .242/.316/.498 with 21 homers and 63 RBI in his first 376 plate appearances with the Pirates.

Lowe put the Pirates on the board with a three-run blast off Chase Burns in the second inning. He later drove in a fourth run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. The home run was Lowe’s 20th of the season for his fourth straight 20-homer campaign. The 31-year-old second baseman is having an excellent season with the Pirates, hitting .246/.320/.515 with the 20 homers, 51 runs scored, and 56 RBI across 341 plate appearances.

Lowe’s OBP has been tumbling in recent weeks, but he’s still collecting homers, having added five to his total this month. He’s tied for 10th in the league with 19 homers, and he’s one of just nine players with 50 runs scored and RBI. That’s at the 81-game mark, so he’s currently on pace for 100 runs scored and 102 RBI. Last year, Bryan Reynolds led the Pirates with 68 runs scored and 73 RBI. The last time any Pirate hit the century mark in either category was when Josh Bell drove in 116 runs in 2019.