MINNEAPOLIS — At long last, one of the worst road trips in Pittsburgh Pirates history is over. It ended with a win.

The Pirates lost the first eight games of their nine-game road trip, then beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 in the finale Sunday afternoon at Target Field. The Pirates loaded the bases in the ninth off Twins closer Jhoan Duran, then Spencer Horwitz brought Ke’Bryan Hayes home with an RBI groundout for the win.

David Bednar pitched the ninth, allowing a leadoff single before striking out the next two batters. Ty France grounded out to end it.

For most of the game, Sunday followed a script of all-too-many Pirates losses this year. The starting pitching was strong, but the offense could give no support.

Mitch Keller once again pitched well, completing six innings of one-run ball. He allowed four hits and struck out three.

But besides a Tommy Pham homer in the second inning off Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson, the Pirate offense couldn’t bring runners home for the bulk of the game. They loaded the bases in the second after Pham’s homer, but Andrew McCutchen flew out to end it.

Keller allowed his only run in the bottom of the third. Left fielder Harrison Bader led off with a single, then two batters later, All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton doubled him home.

But the Pirates came through in the ninth, with 7-8-9 in the order singling with one out against Duran. Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s single, which loaded the bases, capped a 4 for 4 day. With the infield in, Horwitz smashed a grounder at Twins second baseman Brooks Lee. Lee made a stellar diving stop, but couldn’t get the ball out of his glove in time to attempt the double play.

With the win, the Pirates are once again a game over .500 all-time. They’ve won 10,878 games and lost 10,877.

It was over when …

France’s groundout was fielded by Nick Gonzales and thrown cleanly to Horwitz. In a road trip where most everything had gone wrong, the bottom of the ninth went to plan.

On the mound

Keller delivered his 14th quality start of the season, tied for the second-most in baseball, but was unable to improve his 3-10 record. He threw 83 pitches on a muggy day in Minneapolis. Dennis Santana pitched the eighth for the win, improving to 3-2.

At the plate

The Pirates looked like they might get some traction against Woods Richardson, with six hits in his 4 2/3 innings, but only scored on Pham’s longball. He was pulled with two on and two outs in the fifth, then Twins reliever Louis Varland got Gonzales to ground out on his first pitch.

They had 10 hits, but left nine runners on base.

Most valuable player

Kiner-Falefa. The four hits, all singles, tied his career-high.

Up next

For the Pirates, the All-Star Break is coming at the perfect time. Oneil Cruz will compete in the Home Run Derby on Monday and Paul Skenes will start the All-Star Game on Tuesday, but everyone else will be off until Friday.

The Pirates have a much-needed long homestand after the break, with nine games at PNC Park. They’ll begin against the Chicago White Sox on Friday at 6:40 p.m. ET.

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