Paul Skenes started on the mound Tuesday night for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The young superstar was opposed by San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb.
And when the dust settled, the scoreboard read 13-12, a win for the Pirates by a score not a single soul would’ve predicted heading into Tuesday’s clash.
Webb is the best pitcher the Giants have. Even amid relative struggles, the same is true for Skenes in Pittsburgh.
Yet neither of the aces was anywhere near their best, and so the Pirates had to outhit the Giants 19-16 to pull off their craziest win of the season.
What Happened To Paul Skenes and Logan Webb?
Skenes had a rough night, but it was nothing compared to Webb.
The Pirates’ righty Skenes went 4.2 innings, allowing eight hits and five runs while walking three and striking out four. It raised his season ERA to 3.97.
Webb got absolutely clobbered. He lasted just 2.0 innings (pitching to seven batters in the third inning without recording an out). Webb allowed nine hits and nine runs while walking two and striking out just one. His season ERA ballooned all the way to 4.21 with the struggle.
How Did Pirates Win 13-12?
The line score of this game tells quite the story.
The Pirates scored twice in the bottom of the first to take the lead. Nick Gonzalez lined an RBI single, and Oneil Cruz followed with a run-scoring hit of his own to go up 2-0.
The Giants responded with five runs in the top of the second, punctuated by a three-run home run from Rafael Devers.
After two scoreless half innings, the Pirates put up a whopping nine runs in the bottom of the third.
Cruz started it with an RBI single. Jacob Gonzalez walked with the bases loaded for the second run. Jared Triolo then walked with the bags full, too, to tie the game 5-5.
Henry Davis and Spencer Horwitz each followed with two-run singles to go up 9-5, and Cruz did the same with a two-RBI hit of his own for an 11-5 lead.
The Giants pulled two runs back in the sixth, then the Pirates put one on the board in the seventh when Brandon Lowe hit a solo homer to go up 12-7.
San Francisco tied the game with five runs in the top of the eighth, including a two-run double from Drew Cavanaugh and a two-run single from Nate Furman.
That set up Pittsburgh’s heroics in the bottom of the ninth, when a ball in play by Rafael Flores Jr. forced an error on the third baseman and won the game for the Pirates, 13-12.
The Pirates walk it off on a throwing error from the Giants!
Pittsburgh takes the series opener in dramatic fashion š pic.twitter.com/aQjzxHepRq
ā Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) September 2, 2026
All nine players that started the game for the Pirates notched at least one hit. Of those, eight had at least one RBI.
Maybe the most astounding stat of the whole night: The Pirates’ first nine hitters in the third inning reached safely, all on singles.
Yeah, it was a good night to be holding a bat for the Pirates.
How Pirates Won Insane 13-12 Slugfest Vs. Giants