Rafael Flores Jr. has long maintained that when Brandon Lowe hits a home run, it motivates the Pittsburgh Pirates catcher to smash one of his own. A day after Lowe hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to beat the Kansas City Royals, Flores followed suit.

This time, Flores had additional motivation.

After Royals reliever Nate Pearson tried to back him off the plate by throwing some chin music, Flores decided to dance to a different tune. When Pearson left a slider over the plate, Flores smashed a two-run shot for a 4-3 win to clinch a three-game series sweep Sunday afternoon before 14,979 at PNC Park.

“Felt good, especially after 98 up and in,” Flores said. “I don’t know if he was trying to back me off the plate, but after he did it, I told myself, ‘I will die in this situation. If he throws one more fastball up and in, I’m going to stick my nose in it.’ He threw me a slider right in the honey hole. Just couldn’t miss it.”

Luke Maile hit a two-out double off Pirates closer Mason Montgomery that bounced off the Clemente Wall and was misplayed by Jake Mangum for an error that allowed Maile to reach third. The Royals had Isaac Collins pinch-hit for Kyle Isbel, but Montgomery got him to fly out to right for his 16th save.

The Pirates (79-77) won their fourth consecutive game and recorded their sixth sweep of the season. Flores, who went 2 for 3 with a double, home run, a walk and two RBIs, was the bright spot on a drizzly, dreary day, as the Pirates were trailing by one run when the rookie catcher homered.

Combined with Lowe’s two-run homer, which sparked a 6-5 win Saturday, it marked the first time since at least 1920 that the Pirates hit a home run that turned a deficit into a lead in the eighth inning or later in consecutive games, per Elias Sports Bureau.

“Late in the game, late in the season,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “The way that we’ve been swinging the bat, a huge two-run homer by Lowe (Saturday) and then Flo following it up today — and he’s had a knack for that.”

The Royals (67-89) got three consecutive singles against Pirates opener Lake Bachar, who was pitching in back-to-back games, and Salvador Perez drove in Bobby Witt Jr. for a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

In the fourth inning, Oneil Cruz crushed Michael Wacha’s 0-1 curveball 420 feet to the bullpen in center field to tie the score at 1-1 with his 20th home run, giving him three consecutive seasons of 20 homers and 20 steals.

In 2024, Cruz had 21 homers and 22 steals in 146 games. Last year, he had 20 homers and 38 steals in 135 games. This season, Cruz has been even more impressive by reaching 20 homers and 28 steals in only 93 games. Cruz joins Barry Bonds (1990-92) and Andrew McCutchen (2011-13) as the only Pirates in the modern era (since 1901) to record three consecutive 20-20 seasons.

“As a player, those are the things that you look for,” Cruz said through Pirates coach and interpreter Stephen Morales. “And, for me, it’s a privilege just to be part of that list as well … with those two legends of Pittsburgh baseball. It means a lot to me.”

The Pirates got a break in the fifth when Mangum drew a walk and Konnor Griffin hit a sharp grounder to third. Maikel Garcia stopped it and made a strong throw to second base that Michael Massey couldn’t corral, an error that put Pirates runners on first and second base. But Lowe popped up to third on the infield fly rule, and Bryan Reynolds struck out to strand both.

They got to Wacha with two outs in the sixth, when Ryan O’Hearn drew an eight-pitch walk, Flores followed with a nine-pitch walk and Spencer Horwitz hit a flare to shallow center to score O’Hearn and give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.

The Royals finally pulled Wacha after 113 pitches, bringing in Nolan Hoffman with runners on first and second. He got Mangum looking at a called third strike to limit the damage.

The lead didn’t last long. With two outs in the seventh, Royals pinch hitter Vinnie Pasquantino sent Carmen Mlodzinski’s 2-1 splitter below the strike zone 390 feet and over the Clemente Wall for a two-run home run to give the Royals a 3-2 lead.

Jose Cuas relieved lefty Connor Thomas with two outs and runners at second and third in the bottom of the seventh and struck out Nick Gonzales to protect the lead.

But the Pirates took the lead in the eighth, when O’Hearn hit a leadoff single and Flores hammered Pearson’s 2-1 slider 426 feet to left field for his 10th home run and the lead. Flores said it was on his mind that Pearson hit Gonzales in the back with a pitch Friday night.

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“I think any normal person will not forget that he smoked Nick Gonzales in the back,” Flores said. “You go in there, and you’re a little sketched out. But, like I said, I was willing to die in that situation. If he threw one at my dome, I was dead. If he didn’t, I was going to whack it. It’s just a mindset. You have to lay your nuts down and stick your nose in there, just hope he doesn’t hit your head.

“It’s either he whacks me, or I whack him. I whacked him.”