Game Log: July 2, 2026 @ Phillies

The Pirates took the finale from the Phillies 6-1 to split the series and get back to 44-44. The pitching held Philadelphia to one run, and the bats did enough late to pull away from a tie game.

Jared Jones took the ball and gave them four solid innings, one run on two hits with six strikeouts. The only damage was a Bryce Harper double in the third that scored Rafael Marchán to make it 1-0. The bullpen took it from there and shut the door, Mlodzinski, Soto, and Montgomery combining for five scoreless innings the rest of the way. As a staff they held the Phillies to four hits and struck out 10.

The Pirates tied it in the fifth. Esmerlyn Valdez singled home Jake Mangum to make it 1-1. It stayed there into the seventh, when they finally got the lead. Valdez tripled home Brandon Lowe to make it 2-1, and Nick Gonzales singled home Valdez to push it to 3-1.

They kept adding on. Endy Rodríguez homered in the eighth to make it 4-1, and the Pirates put up two in that inning. Gonzales capped his day with a solo homer in the ninth to make it 6-1. He finished three-for-five with two RBI, and Valdez had three RBI on his triple and single.

The offense racked up 14 hits and left 12 on base, so there were plenty of chances they did not cash, but they got the ones that mattered late. The pitching was the story, one run allowed on the road against a good Phillies lineup. They split the four games and head home at .500. On to the next series.