PITTSBURGH (Interstat) — Bubba Chandler pitched five strong innings and Brandon Lowe hit a three-run homer as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Red Sox 8-4 on Friday night at PNC Park.

Chandler allowed two earned runs on four hits while striking out five to earn the win, improving to 6-8 on the season. Mason Montgomery recorded the final out for his fourth save. Boston starter Jake Bennett took the loss, falling to 9-6 after surrendering four earned runs on five hits over four innings.

The Pirates struck first in the bottom of the second when Rafael Flores Jr. homered to right field. Pittsburgh extended the lead in the fourth with a three-run burst. Ronny Simon singled and Bryan Reynolds followed with a ground-rule double. Esmerlyn Valdez then doubled down the left-field line, driving in both Simon and Reynolds. Flores capped the inning with a run-scoring single to left, giving the Pirates a 4-0 advantage.

Boston trimmed the deficit in the top of the fifth. Caleb Durbin walked and Jarren Duran also walked. Andruw Monasterio singled to right, scoring Durbin. Nick Sogard followed with a sacrifice fly to center, plating Duran to make it 4-2. But Pittsburgh answered decisively in the bottom half of the inning.

Nick Gonzales was hit by a pitch to start the fifth. After a strikeout, Reynolds singled, and a second strikeout put two runners on base with two outs. Lowe then launched a fly ball to right field for his 26th home run of the season, scoring Gonzales, Reynolds and himself to push the Pirates lead to 7-2. That three-run blast proved to be the decisive blow of the game.

The Red Sox got a run back in the seventh. Duran singled and scored on Sogard’s line-drive single to center. Pittsburgh added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh when an error by third baseman Caleb Durbin allowed Bryan Reynolds to score, making it 8-3.

Boston’s final run came in the ninth. Eli White singled and moved to second on a single by Sogard. Masataka Yoshida then singled to right, driving in White. But Montgomery entered and struck out Adley Rutschman to end the game.

The Red Sox finished with nine hits, matching the Pirates. Sogard led Boston with two hits and two RBIs. For Pittsburgh, Flores went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, while Reynolds added two hits.

Chandler, who entered the game after a pair of wins in his previous two starts, worked around scattered baserunners. He retired the side in order in the first and third innings, and after Boston’s two-run fifth he was lifted following the fifth frame. Pittsburgh relievers Gregory Soto, Luke Weaver and Montgomery combined for 2.1 scoreless innings, with Soto and Weaver each striking out one.

Bennett, meanwhile, struggled with locations, walking two and allowing five hits over his four innings. Alec Gamboa provided effective relief for Boston, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing only two hits. But the damage from the fourth and fifth innings was enough to sink the Red Sox.

The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for Pittsburgh, which improved to 62-65. Boston, which had won its previous game against Toronto, fell to 67-57.

The game took 2 hours 49 minutes and was witnessed by 32,036 fans at PNC Park.

The Red Sox had a chance to close the gap in the fourth when Wilyer Abreu doubled with two out, but Willson Contreras was thrown out at home on the play. Boston loaded the bases in the top of the ninth with two outs, but Montgomery retired Rutschman to secure the save.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen was effective after Chandler departed, with Soto and Weaver each pitching a clean inning. The Pirates also played solid defense, turning a double play in the eighth when Jared Triolo grounded into a shortstop-to-second-to-first twin killing.

Boston’s offense was led by Sogard, whose two-hit performance included the sacrifice fly in the fifth and the RBI single in the seventh. Yoshida also collected two hits, while Monasteio had one hit and drove in a run. Duran scored twice for Boston.

For Pittsburgh, the fifth inning was the key stretch. After Boston cut the lead to two, Lowe’s home run gave the Pirates breathing room and shifted momentum firmly in their favor. The homer was Lowe’s second of the year against Boston and his 26th overall.

Flores’s second-inning homer gave the Pirates an early edge, and his run-scoring single in the fourth extended the lead. He finished a triple short of the cycle.

The Pirates also capitalized on Boston’s defensive miscue in the seventh, when Durbin’s throwing error allowed Reynolds to score. That run provided an important cushion heading into the late innings.

Both teams had opportunities in the early innings, but the score remained 0-0 until Flores connected in the second. Boston threatened in the fourth, but the out at home plate prevented a run. The Red Sox then scored in the fifth and seventh, but could not overcome Pittsburgh’s big innings.

The series continues Saturday with the second of three games between the two teams at PNC Park. Pittsburgh will look to build on its win, while Boston will aim to even the set.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Boston 5, Pittsburgh 2. The ELO system gave Boston a 56.20 percent probability to win. Boston had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5, and the total score of 12 went under the over/under line of 8.5.