Tigers Fall 4-3 as Lowe Walks It Off Down the Line at PNC Park

Three outs away from an eighth straight road series win, and it slipped through our fingers again as Brandon Lowe turned on a 1-2 pitch and hit the inside of the foul pole to walk it off in the ninth. The Tigers lost 4-3 to the Pirates, and it stings in a way we know too well by now: this is our MLB-high 19th loss after leading in the seventh inning or later, and it drops us to 12-22 in one-run games, tied with the Royals for the most one-run losses in baseball. We haven't won one of these since July 23 and 24 against Kansas City. And that hurts more when you remember we went 52-36 in one-run games the previous two seasons and grabbed back-to-back Wild Card berths! Jackson Jobe gave us plenty to like — pitching into the sixth for the first time since his return from Tommy John, his fastball averaging 98 mph, striking out Valdez three times. Rafael Flores Jr. tied it with a 431-foot shot in the ninth off Kenley Jansen, who was chasing career save 493. Close, again.