Before the Pittsburgh Pirates finished off a wild game against the San Francisco Giants with a walk-off win, they made franchise history in the third inning. 

By scoring nine of their 13 total runs of their 13-12 victory in one inning, the 2026 Pirates joined a short list of past Pittsburgh teams. 

Another nine-run inning saw the 2026 Pirates make history 

This current team became only the fourth Pirates group (1944, 1894, 1893) ever to record three separate nine-run innings in one season and the first to do so in 82 years. 

With only one long ball all game, a solo shot by Brendan Lowe in the seventh, the Pirates managed to stack nine runs on the board in one inning without needing any home runs. 

A series of offensive outbursts and getting men on base led to the massive inning. Oneil Cruz, who went 4-for-6 with four RBI in the game, led the way in the third with a pair of RBI singles in that frame alone.  

Pittsburgh was lucky to win the game 

However, Pittsburgh was also lucky to win the game despite the big inning. Paul Skenes, the 2025 Cy Young winner, struggled through another start, allowing five runs off eight hits in just 4.2 innings of work as the Pirates blew a six-run lead prior to mounting a comeback to eventually tie and then win the game thanks to a San Francisco error in the bottom of the ninth. Pittsburgh would then go through six relief pitchers following Skenes' rough outing. 

But no matter how they won, the Pirates are now riding a three-game win streak and are hanging on for their playoff lives. Pittsburgh now sits at 68-71 and five games back for the National League's final wild-card spot.