Lowe, Flores homer to power the Pirates over the slumping Red Sox, 8-4

Brandon Lowe and rookie Rafael Flores Jr. powered the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 8-4 triumph over the slumping Boston Red Sox in a Friday night contest. Lowe's three-run homer in the fifth inning solidified a 7-2 lead, while Flores drove in the game's opening run with his second homer of two days, following two in a Thursday game against Miami.

Esmerlyn Valdez contributed a two-run double in the third, making it 4-0. Lowe collected three hits, and Bryan Reynolds contributed two runs. The Red Sox fell short for the sixth consecutive game after a 28-36 win record. They had runners on base with two outs in the ninth but were unable to capitalize, with Mason Montgomery preserving the victory for his third save.

Rookie Bubba Chandler secured the win with a three-hit, five-strikeout performance in five innings. The Red Sox saw Nick Sogard drive in two runs. Pirates third baseman Nick Gonzales was struck on the helmet by a pitch from Jovani Moran in the fifth inning, suffering a facial contusion and being replaced by pinch-runner Jacob Gonzalez.

The 27-year-old, leading the NL in hitting, dropped to .307 with six home runs and 53 RBIs. The Pirates will host the Red Sox's Sonny Gray (14-3, 2.79 ERA) on Saturday night, with Jared Jones (2-4, 5.03) on the mound for Pittsburgh. Gonzalez sustained a day-to-day injury after going 0 for 2 in his first game since July 26-27, when he hit .307 with six homers and 53 RBIs in 118 games.