![\"Rafael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Flores.jpeg\")
Photo provided by Matt Lynch\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto provided by Matt Lynch\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
PITTSBURGH \u2013 For the second game in a row, the Pirates won on a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning.<\/p>\n
After Brandon Lowe lifted the Pirates to a 6-5 win against the Royals on Saturday, Rafael Flores Jr. was the hero in Pittsburgh\u2019s 4-3 win at PNC Park on a rainy Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cLate in the game, late in the season. The way that we\u2019ve been swinging the bat, a huge two-run homer by Lowe yesterday, and then (Flores) following it up today, and he\u2019s had a knack for that,\u201d said manager Don Kelly.<\/p>\n
With a runner on first base and nobody out in the bottom of the eighth, Nate Pearson brushed back Flores in a 1-1 count with a 98 mph four-seam fastball up and in. Instead of backing down from the chin music, Flores locked in.<\/p>\n
\u201cFelt good,\u201d he said of his game-winning home run. \u201cEspecially after 98 up and in. I don\u2019t know if he was trying to back me off the plate. But after he did it, I told myself, \u2018I will die in this situation. If he throws one more fastball up and in. I\u2019m gonna stick my nose in it.\u2019 He threw me a slider right in the honey hole. Just couldn\u2019t miss it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearson\u2019s next pitch, a slider that was down and in, ended up in the left field seats. Flores clubbed a 426-foot go-ahead home run for his 10th of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s either he whacks me, or I whack him,\u201d said Flores. \u201cI whacked him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the at-bat even began, Flores recalled Pearson\u2019s first appearance of the series. The Royals right-hander hit Nick Gonzales square in the back with a 96 mph sinker on the first pitch of the at-bat. Pearson ended up taking the loss after the Pirates rallied for three runs against him, but Flores didn\u2019t forget about what happened to Gonzales.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think any normal person will not forget that he smoked Nick Gonzales in the back,\u201d he explained. \u201cYou go in there, and you\u2019re a little sketched out. But like I said, I was willing to die in that situation. If he threw one at my dome, I was dead. If he didn\u2019t, I was gonna whack it. It\u2019s just a mindset. You have to lay your nuts down and stick your nose in there, just hope he doesn\u2019t hit your head.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flores\u2019 latest blast is yet another display of a strong rookie season. The 25-year-old has taken over as Pittsburgh\u2019s primary catcher and has made the most of his opportunity. In 43 games on the season, Flores is batting .286\/.354\/.556 with six doubles, 10 home runs and 22 RBI.<\/p>\n
Although there are still six games remaining on the schedule, Flores\u2019 game-winning home run on Sunday afternoon was like a cherry on top of an impressive rookie campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m trying to prove anything. I\u2019m just trying to help the team win,\u201d he said of his rookie season. \u201cI know the type of player I am and what I can provide.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned in this article:Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> Rafael Flores Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n