The bases were loaded with two outs when Jacob Stallings came to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates catcher wasn’t thinking about the heroics of hitting a home run after popping out in a similar situation earlier in the game.
When Stallings turned on a waist-high inside pitch, New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz pointed to the sky to signal a fly ball. Stallings held onto his bat, walking slowly as he watched the ball sail toward the crooked corner near the foul pole in left field where Dominic Smith leaped onto the fence with an outstretched glove.
“I didn’t even really run when I hit it,” Stallings said. “I figured he was either going to catch it or it was going to be a home run, so I figured I might as well just stand there and watch and see what happened.”
A Saturday night that started with the Pirates honoring their 1971 World Series champions ended with Stallings hitting a walk-off grand slam to clinch an epic comeback, as the Pirates rallied from a six-run deficit for a 9-7 victory before a season-best crowd of 27,222 at PNC Park.
“Wow,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “That was a heck of a comeback, man.”
It was the third walk-off grand slam in ballpark history: Brian Giles hit the first, in a 9-8 win over the Houston Astros on July 28, 2001; and Rob Mackowiak hit one in a 9-5 win over the Chicago Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader on May 28, 2004, hours after the birth of his son, Garrett.
It was the sixth career walk-off hit for Stallings, a 346-foot blast for his career-high eighth homer of the season. It came on the first pitch he saw, a 97.8-mph four-seam fastball from Diaz, who had touched 100 on heaters against both John Nogowski and Gregory Polanco.
“He was aggressive. He was ready to hit. Against a guy throwing 100, he stepped up and kept the ball fair,” Shelton said. “When he hit it, I knew he got enough of it. I just didn’t know if he was going to keep it fair. He did. He really stepped up. It was outstanding.”
Stallings’ blast lit the fuse for the celebration on a night that fittingly ended with fireworks. First base coach Tarrik Brock slapped his hand and third base coach Joey Cora bowed as Stallings rounded the bases before being mobbed by his teammates at home plate.
“I kind of saw Joey as I was going by him but it didn’t register. Then I saw it on the replay, what he was doing, and I don’t know, that was kind of funny,” Stallings said. “I’m kind of a sucker for season highlight videos. It’s the only time I get emotional, really, and I don’t know why. I just love seeing teammates cheer one another in moments. To see the dugout’s reaction was pretty cool.”
It was a wild ending for a game that was all Mets (47-42), as Tyler Megill held the Pirates (36-56) scoreless for six innings and Trevor May stranded runners on second and third in the seventh to maintain a 6-0 lead.
Third baseman J.D. Davis (3 for 4) hit two-run homers in the fourth and sixth innings off Pirates starter Wil Crowe for a 4-0 lead. The Mets added two more runs off reliever Kyle Keller in the seventh, when Luis Guillorme reached on an error by third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and scored on a double to center by pinch hitter Travis Blankenhorn for a 5-0 lead and Jeff McNeil singled to score Blankenhorn to make it 6-0.
The Pirates rallied with a five-run eighth against Seth Luo that was highlighted by Wilmer Difo’s three-run homer. Bryan Reynolds led off with a walk, Ben Gamel followed with a single to right and Nogowski doubled to left to score Reynolds to make it 6-1.
That put runners on second and third for right fielder Gregory Polanco, who was reinstated Saturday from the injured list and drew a walk to load the bases. After Stallings popped out to second, Kevin Newman beat a double play throw for an infield single. Difo followed with a 412-foot pinch-hit drive to right, his second homer in as many games, to make it 6-5.
“Being able to come off the bench, I’m a guy that goes up to the box and takes my at-bat, just trying to make a good contact hit, get the ball in play, make sure I get on base,” Difo said through translator Mike Gonzalez. “However, to get another home run, especially in a situation like that to help the team get closer to a victory, that’s an indescribable feeling.”
Mets center fielder Brandon Nimmo, however, quickly quieted the crowd by hitting a solo homer to center off Clay Holmes (3-2) to start the ninth for a 7-5 lead.
Diaz had control issues from the start, hitting leadoff batter Ke’Bryan Hayes with a pitch and walking Reynolds before striking out Ben Gamel. Nogowski singled to load the bases for Polanco, who struck out looking at a 3-2 fastball on the outside corner.
That set the stage for Stallings, whose slam set off a wild celebration from a crowd that was split between both Mets and Pirates fans.
“That was pretty cool,” Stallings said. “Certainly one I’ll remember.”
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
