Pirates' Jack Suwinski Leads Charge in Comeback Win

Suwinski said that he was working the count and took the best pitch of the at-bat, which is something that he's learned from watching his teammates do over recent weeks.

“Yeah, you know, going in there and battling with two strikes and foul balls, those are all positive," Suwinski said. "I know it doesn’t look like much in the moment, but everyone know that when you foul off a couple, you’re seein ‘em pretty good, you’re competing. Everyone in the dug out can see it. That’s what we’ve been talking about a lot. It’s going in there and just being competitive.”

Suwinski then got hit by a pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning, putting two runners on with one out and the Pirates still trailing one run.

He made it to third base on a single by catcher Joey Bart, which tied the game, putting him in scoring positon for the winning run.

Third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a slow bouncer to Devers at first base, but Suwinski immediately jumped for home plate and just slid ahead of the tag from Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, winning it on walk-off, 5-4.

Suwinski said that he knew he was safe when he slid, but that he had to execute the slide, particularly with his hand placement, so he could avoid the tag.

“It was really close," Suwinski said. "You know, it’s really hard for me because I just tried to dive and slide as hard as far as I can to get in there, but I knew it was going to be close. I was just running with my head down, but I can see his body catching-and-turning, so if I just stay on the outside of that running lane and get my hand as far out and over as I can."

Pirates manager Don Kelly praised Suwinski for his play throughout the game, but especially with his home run and how hard he worke during that at-bat.

"Huge. The home run was a great at-bat," Kelly said on Suwinski. "And even when he got hit by the pitch, great at-bat. He got some swings off there on pitches he could handle and fouled them off. He battled. We talked about grinding out at-bats, he did a good job of that and found a way to get on."

Suwinski has struggled throughout 2025, slashing .113/.284/.211 for an OPS of .495 in 31 games, with eight hits in 71 at-bats, one double, two home runs, four RBIs and 15 walks to 33 strikeouts.

He slashed .128/.244/.154 for an OPS of .398, with just five hits in 39 at-bats and six walks to 19 strikeouts in 16 games, before the Pirates sent him down to Triple-A Indianapolis on April 24.

Suwinski came into this game with just two hits in 26 at-bats through 12 games for an .077 batting average, as he still battles to reach better consistency from the plate since coming back from Triple-A on July 8.

He hit 19 home runs as a rookie in 2022 and then hit 26 home runs in 2023, before slashing .182/.264/.324 for an OPS of .588 in 2024, spending the last two months of the season with Indianapolis.

Suwinski said that he has tried being less hard on himself and has relied on his teammates for confidence, especially when he's in a slump, as they've come through for him when he's needed it most.

“Yeah, it’s just part of it. You can’t control the results and that's obviously something I have to remind myself," Suwinski siad. "Just coming in, working as hard as I can and watch the way the rest of this locker room works. So it’s easy to come in and do that and these guys pick me up every day. So that’s it. Just sticking with the process, working hard and leaning on these guys.”