Rafael Flores Jr. - MLB News, Rumors, & Updates

Valdez homers and the Pirates use 8 pitchers in a 4-2 win over the White Sox

Rookie Esmerlyn Valdez hit a solo shot, rookie Konnor Griffin singled in two runs in Pittsburgh’s three-run seventh inning and the Pirates held on to beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2...

1 DAY AGO • Associated Press

Pirates back Bubba Chandler with 18 hits in 9-3 victory over White Sox

Bubba Chandler pitched six strong innings, Rafael Flores Jr. homered among his three hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates pounded the Chicago White Sox 9-3

2 DAYS AGO • Associated Press

Receiving Sunday off Flores is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.

Impact The Pirates will go with Henry Davis behind the plate Sunday while Flores rests for the second time in the series. Though he's maintained a solid .794 OPS over 105 plate appearances with the Pirates on the season, Flores has fallen into a bit of cold spell lately, going 4-for-30 with a 28.1 percent strikeout rate over his last nine games.

5 DAYS AGO • ROTOWIRE

Yusei Kikuchi pitches 6 scoreless innings to lead Angels to a 6-1 win over the Pirates

Yusei Kikuchi pitched six scoreless innings and earned his first win of the season as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 on Saturday night

6 DAYS AGO • Associated Press

Resting Friday Flores is not in the Pirates' starting lineup against the Angels on Friday.

Impact Flores will get a breather after going 2-for-31 with one home run, three RBI and a 2:8 BB:K over his last six games. Henry Davis will start behind home plate and bat ninth while forming a battery with Jared Jones.

SEPTEMBER 4 • ROTOWIRE

Pirates survive a wild 13-12 finish as a 9th-inning throwing error seals win over Giants

Brandon Lowe scored from third base on a error with two outs in the ninth to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 13-12 victory over the San Francisco Giants

SEPTEMBER 2 • Associated Press

Pops three-run homer Flores went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run Saturday against the Cardinals.

Impact Flores gave the Pirates some breathing room when he blasted a three-run home run in the fifth inning of Saturday's win. He's been in roughly a 50-50 split for playing time behind the plate with Henry Davis, while also picking up a handful of starts at first base in the last three weeks. Flores has shown a boom-or-bust profile in that span, tallying six home runs with 15 RBI and nine runs scored across 15 games, while also striking out at a 36.4 percent clip.

AUGUST 30 • ROTOWIRE

Cardinals and Pirates meet, winner secures 3-game series

The St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates meet on Sunday with the winner claiming the three-game series

AUGUST 30 • Associated Press

Deadspin | Rafael Flores' 3-run shot helps Pirates beat Cards Deadspin | Rafael Flores' 3-run shot helps Pirates beat Cards

AUGUST 29 • DEADSPIN.COM

Flores Jr., Lowe hit homers to spark Pirates to 6-2 win over Cardinals

Rafael Flores Jr. hit a three-run home run and Brandon Lowe added a solo shot to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday

AUGUST 29 • Associated Press

Nick Gonzales' 12th-inning RBI single sends Pirates past Padres 3-2

Nick Gonzales led off the 12th inning with an RBI single and the Pittsburgh Pirates snapped their three-game skid with a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres

AUGUST 25 • Associated Press

Skubal fans 11 for his first Dodgers win as Los Angeles rallies past the Pirates, 4-3

Tarik Skubal struck out 11 to earn his first win as a Dodger

AUGUST 23 • Associated Press

Dodgers face the Pirates leading series 1-0

The Los Angeles Dodgers play the Pittsburgh Pirates, leading the series 1-0

AUGUST 22 • Associated Press

Rafael Flores Jr. Makes Insane Pirates History PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates needed someone to step up offensively against the Detroit Tigers and they got just that from Rafael Flor...

AUGUST 20 • SI.COM

Rafael Flores Jr. is forcing Pirates to reconsider his current role Rafael Flores Jr. entered Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers as a bench bat. By the time it was over, he had accomplished something...

AUGUST 19 • RUMBUNTER.COM

Comes up big off bench Wednesday Flores went 2-for-2 with two solo home runs in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Tigers.

Impact The Pirates tried to give the red-hot Flores a breather, but the 25-year-old was summoned off the bench to pinch hit for Henry Davis in the seventh inning and he took Jacob Waguespeck deep to make it a 3-2 game. Two frames later, Flores homered again to tie it, this time off Detroit closer Kenley Jansen, setting the stage for Brandon Lowe's walk-off blast. Flores has gone yard five times in the last seven games, a sizzling stretch in which he's batting .435 (10-for-23) with 10 RBI.

AUGUST 19 • ROTOWIRE

Paul Skenes has fallen back to earth in 2026. The Pirates ace is intent on staying the course

Pirates ace Paul Skenes is confident he can make a late-season push following the most challenging stretch of his career

AUGUST 19 • Associated Press

Lowe and Flores homer in the ninth off Jansen as the Pirates rally past Tigers 4-3

Brandon Lowe homered off Detroit closer Kenley Jansen with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 win over the Tigers

AUGUST 19 • Associated Press

Hitting bench after six straight starts Flores is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers.

Impact Flores will hit the bench after he started in each of the last six games -- three at catcher, three at first base -- while going 8-for-21 with three home runs, one double, two walks, eight RBI and six runs. He should continue to see regular reps at first base against left-handed pitching as part of a platoon with the left-handed-hitting Spencer Horwitz, and Flores has performed well enough lately to earn more playing time behind the plate at the expense of Henry Davis, who has generated a lowly .426 OPS since the All-Star break.

AUGUST 19 • ROTOWIRE

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

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

AUGUST 18 • Associated Press

Patrick Sandoval strikes out Rafael Flores Jr. | 08/16/2026 The Official Site of Major League Baseball

AUGUST 16 • MLB.COM

Earning fourth straight start Flores will start at first base and bat fifth in Sunday's game against the Red Sox.

Impact Flores will draw his fourth consecutive start, with the Pirates having gone up against two righties and two lefties during that span. With Spencer Horwitz occupying the strong side of a platoon at first base, Flores' main path to playing time will come behind the plate, where he could challenge Henry Davis for primary duties while Endy Rodriguez (hip) is on the shelf. Since coming off the injured list Aug. 1, Flores has thus far done his part to earn more opportunities by going 7-for-22 with three home runs, two walks, eight RBI and three runs in seven games.

AUGUST 16 • ROTOWIRE

Pirates and Red Sox square off with series tied 1-1

Both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Red Sox are looking for a series win with a victory on Sunday

AUGUST 16 • Associated Press

Goes yard again Friday Flores went 3-for-4 wit ha home run and two RBI in Friday's 8-4 win over the Red Sox.

Impact The 25-year-old rookie took Jake Bennett deep for a solo shot in the second inning -- per Aiden Stepansky of MLB.com, that made Flores just the fifth Pirate in the last 21 seasons to homer in three straight plate appearances, after he went yard twice Thursday. He's banged out five hits in those two contests, doubling his big-league total on the season, and through 14 games for the Bucs dating back to June 10 he's slashing .294/.400/.676 with four homers and 10 RBI while bouncing between first base and catcher.

AUGUST 15 • ROTOWIRE

Pirates' Flores Providing Spark for Offense The Pittsburgh Pirates' offense has been resuscitated over the last two games, and the heartbeat of that revival has a name: Rafael Flores J...

AUGUST 15 • SI.COM

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