PHOENIX -- For eight innings, it appeared as if the somber tone set by second baseman Nick Gonzales landing on the injured list pregame would hang over the Pirates in Sunday¡¯s matinee against the D-backs. But a pair of timely pinch-hit doubles in the ninth from Rowdy Tellez and Joey Bart sparked a 6-5 extra-inning comeback win at Chase Field that propelled the club back above .500 ahead of a crucial 48-hour stretch prior to the Trade Deadline.

It¡¯s just one of 162, but this one felt like a giant pendulum swing that makes a flight to Houston -- with Bryan Reynolds expected to return to the lineup off the bereavement list and Paul Skenes starting Monday -- a joyous one.

With the win, the Pirates sit two games behind the Mets for the final National League Wild Card spot.

"I think this is our biggest victory,¡± manager Derek Shelton declared postgame. ¡°I mean, to come back with where we're at [in the standings] -- the way Mitch [Keller] pitched just to continue to grind through it, be down to two strikes [left in the ninth] ¡­ but we were able to get the final out, which was really important.¡±

¡°We were actually in the cage together and it was just, ¡®Make something happen,¡¯¡± Bart said of his and Tellez¡¯s approach. ¡°Seems like, late in a game, we¡¯re always right there. It¡¯s 2-1, it¡¯s been dead a few innings, but the mentality is always something can happen. Always one swing away, so that¡¯s kind of how we attacked it and luckily it worked out.¡±

That all-in, all-out, everyone-contributes approach was personified by Jared Triolo, who drew the start at second base for Gonzales, just to head out to right field after a flurry of moves stemming from the ninth. Playing his first inning at the position since his freshman year at the University of Houston in 2017, Triolo laid out to make a grab that was confirmed by replay review to send the game to extra innings.

¡°Just kind of playing with no fear out there,¡± Triolo said. ¡°Not a lot you can lose so, you know, just kind of fly around and catch balls you're supposed to catch.¡±

Pittsburgh pushed across four runs in the top of the 10th courtesy of a wild pitch, a bases-loaded hit by pitch of Alika Williams and a two-RBI single by Ke¡¯Bryan Hayes. With David Bednar having worked a scoreless eighth with the club trailing -- and Aroldis Chapman working a clean ninth to force extras -- Colin Holderman was tabbed to get the final three outs. He didn¡¯t earn a save due to the lead but finished just his third contest of the year.

Two strikes was all that stood between Pittsburgh and three straight losses to kick off a vital stretch in its schedule, all the more so considering tiebreaker scenarios and the fact it¡¯ll play Arizona again next weekend.

The last time that the Pirates incurred a three-game sweep at the hands of the D-backs at Chase Field was in July 2021; of that starting nine, only Hayes and Reynolds remain. That series came amidst a trying season, but one that helped pave the roadmap to what has gotten the 2024 iteration on the doorstep of playoff baseball with 57 regular-season games remaining.

Keller was also a part of that group, in his first season as a full-time member of the starting rotation. He has emerged in 2024 as a bonafide top-of-the-rotation arm, managing to further improve statistically upon his All-Star campaign last year.

On Sunday, with the club¡¯s offense missing three main, middle-of-the-order regulars, the 28-year-old delivered seven innings of two-hit, two-run ball that kept the Pirates within range of striking at an opportune moment.

It¡¯s the stuff -- timely hitting, strong pitching, contributors up and down the roster no matter the circumstance -- that playoff baseball is made of.

¡°Obviously, I don't feel like we're rebuilding anymore,¡± Keller said. ¡°I think everybody's kind of past that point of talks. But yeah, it definitely feels different. I think just the group of guys that we have -- everyone's really good and never takes an at-bat off, never takes a play off.

¡°I think that shows that when it comes down to those situations, we could have easily folded over, just lose 2-1. But everybody is still fighting for their at-bats and fighting for the team.¡±