Rafael Flores Jr. didn’t treat the bottom of the eighth like a routine September at-bat. He treated it like a fight.
And for the Pittsburgh Pirates, that mindset paid off in a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sept. 20, when Flores launched a go-ahead, two-run homer to complete a weekend sweep at PNC Park.
The swing itself was loud enough. Flores jumped on an 89.7 mph slider down and inside, sent it 110.2 mph, and watched it travel 426 feet into the second level of the left-field bleachers in rainy Pittsburgh weather. It was the kind of blast that showed exactly why the rookie has become such a dangerous bat in the Pirates’ lineup.
What made the moment stand out even more was everything that happened before the pitch he crushed. Royals right-hander Nate Pearson had already tried to crowd Flores with a 97.5 mph sinker on the first pitch, then followed with a 98 mph four-seam fastball near his head. Flores had a choice: back off or stay put and trust his hands.
He stayed.
"Felt good," Flores said. "Especially after 98 up and in.
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 gonna stick my nose in it.’ He threw me a slider right in the honey hole.
Just couldn’t miss it."
The moment carried extra weight because Pearson had hit Nick Gonzales in the series opener on Sept. 18, when a 96.9 mph sinker struck him in the back in the seventh inning. The Pirates had gone on to take that game 8-5, sparked by a two-run single from Spencer Horwitz in the seventh.
Flores didn’t forget that sequence, and he made it clear he was willing to answer for his teammate.
"I think any normal person will not forget that he smoked Nick Gonzales in the back," Flores said. "I think it was the first day.
"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 gonna 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."
The bat has been there all season. In 43 games, Flores is hitting .286/.354/.556 with a .910 OPS, 38 hits in 133 at-bats, six doubles, 10 home runs and 22 RBI. He’s been even better in September, batting .385/.429/.615 with a 1.044 OPS, 20 hits in 52 at-bats, three doubles, three homers and five RBI.
Since the start of August, with at least 120 plate appearances, Flores has been one of the best-hitting catchers in the game. He leads that group in slugging percentage at .559, ranks second in OPS at .903, sixth in batting average at .288 and eighth in on-base percentage at .344.
But the Pirates are also watching him grow behind the plate. Flores has made strides as a game-caller, sharpened his defense and done more to control the running game.
He’s been part of some big pitching performances, including Braxton Ashcraft’s complete game, 85-pitch, 10-strikeout outing in a 13-1 win over the Miami Marlins on Aug. 13 and Jared Jones taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning of a 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 10.
That combination of offense and progress behind the plate could put Flores in position to be Pittsburgh’s starting catcher next year. Even so, he knows there’s still work to do defensively, and he sees that as part of the road ahead heading into 2027.
"I don’t think I’m trying to prove anything," Flores said on his season. "I’m just trying to help the team win.
I know the type of player I am and what I can provide. If I keep doing it and keep being a good teammate in the process.
"I want to help the pitchers as much as I can. Game-calling is probably the thing I’m still learning how to do.
Still part of the process. As much as offense has been going well for me this year, game-calling is what I want to continue to get better at.
I want these guys want to throw to me every single night.
"Going into next year, that’s what I want. One of my goals for next year is I just want these guys to want to throw to me every single day. I want to catch every single day."
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