McGonigle homers as Tigers beat Pirates 8-5 and move into a tie for the last AL wild-card spot

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kevin McGonigle hit a two-run homer, and the Detroit Tigers held off the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 on Monday night and moved into a three-way tie for the final AL wild-card spot.

Brett Callahan and Hao-Yu Lee also drove in two runs as the Tigers built an 8-1 lead before Pittsburgh scored four times in the sixth.

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Pittsburgh Pirates’ Nick Yorke hits a double off Detroit Tigers pitcher Framber Valdez, driving in three runs, during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jake Mangum (28) scores the third of three runs on a bases loaded double by Nick Yorke off Detroit Tigers pitcher Framber Valdez during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch (14) waits for relief pitcher Kyle Finnegan after taking the ball from starter Framber Valdez during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenley Jansen (74) celebrates with catcher Dillon Dingler, left, after getting the final out of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Zach McKinstry and both hit RBI singles in the first, and McGonigle’s two-run shot in the second, his 13th of the season, made it 4-0.

McGonigle singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch in the sixth. Pirates reliever Yohan Ramirez walked the next three batters, resulting in McGonigle scoring before Callahan hit a two-run single to make it 8-1.

Framber Valdez (8-8) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs and five hits with five strikeouts and four walks. Kenley Jansen struck out two in the final inning for his 15th save of the year.

The Pirates scored their first run after Jake Mangum scored on a throwing error by Lee, then strung together a four-run inning in the sixth after Nick Gonzales doubled, Rafael Flores Jr. was walked and Mangum walked to load the bases. Nick Yorke cleared the bases with a double and Henry Davis hit an RBI single to make it 8-5.

Starter Carmen Mlodzinski pitched three innings and gave up eight hits and four earned runs. He struck out three and walked one.

With the Baltimore Orioles’ 7-6 loss on Monday to Tampa Bay, the Tigers tied Baltimore and Texas for the final AL wild card.

RHP Keider Montero (9-7, 3.22 ERA) will start on the mound for the Tigers on Tuesday against the Pirates RHP Braxton Ashcraft (12-5, 3.88).

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A high school student carrying two firearms shot to death a fellow student before killing himself Tuesday in a high school in a university campus in the southern Philippines, an official and police said.

Zamboanga city Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso said the suspect apparently wore a body camera to livestream the attack at the high school on the Ateneo de Zamboanga university campus in his city. Two other people were injured, he said.

The suspect initially fired at a teacher but it was not clear if the teacher was hit. He then shot a fellow student, who died, before shooting himself, Olaso told DZBB radio network.

The shooting in the Philippines occurred less than two weeks after a school shooting in Thailand.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul took steps to restrict guns in the Southeast Asian country after a 14-year-old boy killed his grandparents, five school staff members and a 12-year-old girl in Nonthaburi province outside Bangkok.

Thailand’s high rate of gun ownership is second only to Pakistan in Asia, and far surpasses its Southeast Asian neighbors.