Mason Montgomery Collapses in Pirates' Loss to Tigers

The Pittsburgh Pirates fell to 81-80 on the season with a loss to the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. Pittsburgh entered the ninth inning with a 3-1 lead, but Mason Montgomery allowed three runs, blowing the save.

Montgomery started off the inning strong with a strikeout, but it went downhill from there. Max Clark singled, followed by a double from Hao-Yu Lee, advancing Clark to third base. Kevin McGonigle then grounded out, but the run scored, cutting the lead to 3-2. One batter later, Eduardo Valencia hit a walk-off two-run home run.

Prior to the ninth-inning collapse, the Pirates had a strong bullpen game going, led by veteran Kirby Yates. Yates received the start, and what could be his final MLB game, and went 1.2 innings, allowing two hits, no unearned runs, and posting a strikeout.

Carmen Mlodzinski had the largest role, pitching 2.1 innings, allowing one hit and an earned run while striking out five. Yohan Ramirez, Evan Sisk, Gregory Soto, and Luke Weaver all had scoreless appearances for Pittsburgh.

On offense, Brandon Lowe and Jacob Gonzalez both hit solo home runs off Tigers starter Justin Verlander, who made the final start of his legendary MLB career.

Lowe has proven to be the best acquisition the Pirates made last offseason, as he's been their best hitter. He is slashing .260/.331/.493 with 35 home runs, 29 doubles, 96 RBIs, 94 runs, and an .824 OPS with one game remaining in the 2026 season.

Lowe is a free agent this offseason, and Pittsburgh needs to do everything they can to retain him.

Gonzalez, who hit the other blast, hasn't enjoyed the same success, as he's slashing .208/.238/.375 with five home runs, five doubles, 14 RBIs, and 10 runs in 50 games with the Pirates. A home run in one of the final games of the season will look to be a momentum booster for Gonzalez heading into the offseason.

The other run the Pirates generated came in the eighth inning with Bryan Reynolds hitting a one-run triple to right field.

Reynolds had a solid year for Pittsburgh, slashing .261/.365/.424 with 17 home runs, 40 doubles, three triples, 72 RBIs, 102 runs, and a .789 OPS.

Pittsburgh enters the offseason with some core pieces in place on the roster, but to get over the hump and end their 11-year playoff drought, they will need to re-sign Lowe and add more talent in free agency or via a trade.