Jared Triolo drives in a pair as Pirates avoid sweep in Philadelphia

The first two games of their penultimate series of the 2023 season resulted in one-run losses for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Facing off against their cross-state rival Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, the Pirates fell in 10 innings Tuesday and blew a five-run lead Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Pirates (75-84) avoided a sweep, coming away on the positive side of a one-run game with a 3-2 win.

Jared Triolo, swinging a red-hot bat this month, was 2 for 5 with a pair of RBI doubles. Luis Ortiz (5-5, 4.78) pitched five innings, picking up the victory.

Ortiz’s hopes of turning in a solid end-of-year start seemed to take an early dent when Kyle Schwarber led off the bottom of the first inning with a 444-foot moonshot to right field for his 46th homer of the season.

After allowing a double to Philadelphia’s next batter, Trea Turner, and walking Bryce Harper, Ortiz rebounded and escaped the inning without allowing any further damage.

In the third, Triolo got his club on the board and tied the score with an RBI double down the third-base line, scoring Jason Delay, who walked.

Entering Thursday’s game, Triolo was hitting .372 in September.

In recognition of swinging the bat so well as of late, manager Derek Shelton inserted him into the leadoff spot Wednesday, with Triolo moving to the three-hole for Thursday’s series finale.

Shifting Triolo towards the top of the lineup bore more fruit in the fifth, when he hit his second RBI double of the evening off of Matt Strahm, scoring Bryan Reynolds.

Strahm replaced Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler (13-6, 3.61 ERA) after four innings of work.

After Triolo batted in a runner with two outs in the fifth, Jack Suwinski followed suit with a single to center field, scoring Triolo and putting the Pirates up 3-1.

Meanwhile, Ortiz, making his 15th start of the season, settled down after allowing a home run to the first batter he faced.

Ortiz got into a bit of a jam in the fifth, walking Schwarber and giving up a single to Turner, but he put out the fire via a flyout of former Pirate Rodolfo Castro, ending the inning.

Shelton ended Ortiz’s outing after five innings, over which he allowed one run on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

The Pirates left some ducks on the pond in the sixth, failing to capitalize with the bases loaded and one out.

Joshua Palacios and Delay singled, with Nick Gonzales drawing a walk, but Ji Hwan Bae and Reynolds grounded out, stranding them all.

Following Ortiz’s departure, Dauri Moreta entered the game, pitching a clean sixth inning and recording an out in the seventh before Ryan Borucki replaced him, quickly sending the game into the eighth.

A run scored in the eighth with Carmen Mlodzinski on the mound.

After Delay made a wild throw over the head of Triolo at third and into left field, Turner, who doubled and was attempting to steal third base, went home to make the score 3-2.

The Phillies threatened in the ninth with David Bednar pitching, but Bednar, who took the loss in Tuesday’s extra-innings defeat, rebounded from a leadoff walk of Nick Castellanos to notch his 38th save of the season.