Not your usual walk-off: We've got a dance party in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH -- Carlos Santana has hit walk-off home runs before. He’s familiar with the routine that comes with delivering a game-winner.

The feeling of winning a game with one smooth swing never grows boring, but the ensuing celebrations have the tendency to be a tad predictable. So, Santana, never one to shy away from an opportunity to dance, added his own personal flair.

Before rounding third base, he stutter-stepped ala Fernando Tatis Jr. Before stepping on home plate to officially give the Pirates an 8-7 win on Friday night at PNC Park, he moved and grooved. Santana said it wasn’t preplanned, that it was all in the moment.

For Pittsburgh, what a moment it was.

"He surprises me sometimes because he doesn't do a whole lot,” Andrew McCutchen said. “He's that quiet guy that you don't know that much about, and then something happens and you're like, 'Man, I don't know you had that in you.' He's that type of guy. It's all fun."

“Fun” is, in a word, the best way to describe how the past four days unfolded for the Pirates at PNC Park. “Fun” was, in a word, the worst way to describe how the prior two weeks had gone for the Bucs before this homestand began.

After a 2-1 win over the Mets on June 11, Pittsburgh was 34-30 and in first place in the National League Central. The Pirates proceeded to be swept by the Cubs at Wrigley Field; swept by these same Brewers at American Family Field; swept by the Cubs again at PNC Park; and lose three of four to the Marlins at loanDepot Park.

In two weeks, the Bucs went from four games over .500 to six games under. Over the past couple days, they’ve crawled back towards even and 4 1/2 games back in the division race.

The Pirates dismantled the Padres on Tuesday and Wednesday, outscoring one of baseball’s most talented teams by 11 runs in those two games. Pittsburgh found itself in a four-run deficit against San Diego on Thursday, but scored five unanswered runs to complete its second sweep of the month.

In those three games, the Pirates received contributions from Henry Davis, Nick Gonzales and Jared Triolo, all of whom made their MLB debuts in June and have played 21 combined Major League games. On Friday, Santana and McCutchen, the veteran tandem who have played 3,930 combined Major League games, led the way to one of Pittsburgh’s most exhilarating wins of the season.

“The game doesn’t go fast for those guys, regardless of the situation,” manager Derek Shelton said. “That’s what good, veteran players do. We have two really good ones.”

Similar to Thursday, the Pirates trailed by four runs early when the Brewers put up a four-spot against rookie starter Osvaldo Bido in the third inning. Pittsburgh responded in the bottom half of the third with three runs, one on McCutchen’s 10th home run, but Milwaukee’s three-run seventh reset the deficit back to four runs.

And similar to Thursday, the Pirates chipped away.

McCutchen singled home Tucupita Marcano in the bottom of the seventh, cutting the deficit to three runs. Jack Suwinski singled home Santana in the eighth, slicing the deficit to a more manageable two runs. In the ninth, they worked some late-game magic.

Ji Hwan Bae began the inning with a pinch-hit single, then after Josh Palacios grounded out, McCutchen sent a booming double off the left-center-field wall to easily drive home Bae, bringing the Brewers’ lead to one.

After Davis, who had the go-ahead RBI single on Thursday, grounded out, Santana stepped into the left-handed batter’s box with two outs and the tying run on second. He got a pitch he liked, an up-and-in fastball, and cleared the right-field bleachers, sending a two-run shot completely out of PNC Park.

“We have to keep continuing,” Santana said. “It’s a long season. We have a lot of competition. We take it one day at a time and play hard.”

Added McCutchen, “It's one of those feelings you don't get to experience a whole lot, so when it happens, it's always exciting. That was a great comeback by us. That was a good win.”