PITTSBURGH (Interstat) — The Pittsburgh Pirates overcame a five-run deficit, rallied back from a pair of late ties and edged the Minnesota Twins 10-9 on Saturday afternoon at PNC Park before an announced crowd of 24,272.

The game took 3 hours and 14 minutes and was the second of a three-game series. Pittsburgh improved to 31-28, while Minnesota fell to 27-32.

Oneil Cruz homered, drove in three runs and scored twice for the Pirates. Jake Mangum collected three hits, including a home run and two RBIs. Bryan Reynolds went 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Konnor Griffin added two hits and scored a run.

For Minnesota, Kody Clemens doubled, tripled and singled, scoring twice. Josh Bell doubled and drove in two runs. Luke Keaschall had three hits and scored twice.

Pittsburgh right-hander Yohan Ramírez, who entered with a 2-2 record, earned the win by pitching one scoreless inning of relief. He allowed no hits, walked one and struck out one. Left-hander Gregory Soto recorded the final four outs for his seventh save, retiring all four batters he faced without allowing a hit.

Bailey Ober took the loss for Minnesota, dropping to 6-3. Ober allowed seven runs on nine hits over four innings. He walked two and struck out three.

Pittsburgh struck first. In the bottom of the first inning, Spencer Horwitz led off with a home run to right field, his seventh of the season, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

Minnesota answered in the top of the second. Kody Clemens doubled to left field, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a double by Victor Caratini, tying the game at 1-1.

The Twins took the lead later in the inning. After Caratini’s double, Luke Keaschall singled, putting runners at first and third. But Caratini was left stranded when Tristan Gray struck out, and Minnesota held a 1-1 tie after the top of the second.

The Pirates then erupted for six runs in the bottom of the second. Mangum led off the inning with a home run to right-center field, his first of the season, giving Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead. After a groundout, Horwitz singled, and Brandon Lowe singled, putting runners at first and second. Reynolds walked to load the bases.

Nick Gonzales then singled to right field, scoring Horwitz and Lowe and moving Reynolds to third, making it 4-1. Cruz followed with a no-doubt home run to center field, his 13th of the season, clearing the bases and giving the Pirates a 7-1 lead. Griffin doubled, but Endy Rodríguez popped out to end the inning.

Minnesota chipped away in the third. Byron Buxton singled, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a triple by Clemens, cutting the deficit to 7-2.

The Twins then exploded for five runs in the fourth inning, tying the game. Orlando Arcia singled, Keaschall singled and Gray doubled to score Arcia and Keaschall, making it 7-4. Buxton walked, and after a flyout, Bell doubled to left field, scoring Gray and Buxton to cut the lead to 7-6. Clemens singled, scoring Bell, and the game was tied at 7-7 after four innings.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Griffin singled, and Rodríguez reached on catcher interference, putting runners at first and second. Mangum singled, scoring Griffin and putting the Pirates ahead 8-7. A strikeout and groundout ended the inning.

Pittsburgh extended its lead to 10-7 in the seventh. Rodríguez walked, Mangum bunted for a single, and Jared Triolo singled, scoring Rodríguez to make it 9-7. After a popout, Tyler Callihan walked to load the bases. Reynolds then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Mangum and pushing the lead to 10-7.

Minnesota made one more push in the eighth. Keaschall singled, Ryan Kreidler walked, and Buxton singled to load the bases. Brooks Lee walked, forcing in Keaschall to cut the deficit to 10-8. Bell then grounded out, scoring Kreidler and making it 10-9, but Clemens grounded out to end the inning.

The Twins threatened in the ninth. Austin Martin lined out to right field, Caratini walked, but Arcia lined out to left field and Keaschall flied out to right field to end the game.

The most critical sequence came in the bottom of the second inning, when the Pirates transformed a 1-1 stalemate into a seven-run outburst. After Mangum’s home run gave Pittsburgh the lead, the inning grew when the Pirates strung together five consecutive hits, including Cruz’s three-run homer, to build a six-run cushion. That rally essentially set the tone for the evening, forcing the Twins into chase mode for the remainder of the game.

Minnesota’s bullpen performed well after Ober departed. Kody Funderburk allowed two runs in 2 1/3 innings, while Evan Sisk threw 1 1/3 hitless innings with two strikeouts. Dennis Santana added 2/3 of a hitless inning with two strikeouts.

The Pirates’ pitching staff also received solid relief work. Mitch Keller started but allowed seven runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking one. Mason Montgomery allowed two runs on two hits in 2/3 of an inning. Ramírez, Soto and Santana combined for 2 2/3 hitless innings to close the game.

Key performers for the Pirates included Mangum, who went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Reynolds reached base three times in four plate appearances, including a walk and a sacrifice fly. Cruz’s home run was the biggest hit of the game, while Triolo drove in a run and Griffin added two hits.

For the Twins, Clemens posted three extra-base hits, Keaschall had three singles, and Bell drove in two runs. Caratini doubled and drove in a run. Arcia singled, and Gray doubled and drove in two runs.

Minnesota outhit Pittsburgh 12-10 through four innings, but the Pirates finished with 15 hits to the Twins’ 12. Both teams committed no errors. The Twins left seven runners on base, while the Pirates stranded eight.

The victory gave Pittsburgh consecutive wins over Minnesota after a 6-5 win Friday. The Twins had won their previous series in Boston, taking two of three, but have dropped three of their last five games overall.

Minnesota continues its road trip Sunday with the series finale at Pittsburgh before returning home to face the Chicago White Sox. Pittsburgh hosts the Twins again Sunday before traveling to Houston for a three-game set against the Astros.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Minnesota 6, Pittsburgh 5. Interstat’s ELO system had given the Pirates a 56.00 percent probability to win. Pittsburgh was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5 runs. The total score of 19 runs went under the over-under line of eight runs.