Fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates would likely have entered the second inning full of confidence that they would be leaving Coors Field with a win on Friday. Pittsburgh was 9-1 up against the Colorado Rockies after the first, which featured an Oneil Cruz grand-slam, but it all went downhill from there.

So how did the Pirates end up losing 17-16? Well, as Ernest Hemingway would put it, “slowly, and then all at once.”

The Pirates started to show cracks in the third inning, when their lead fell to 9-3. An exciting fourth and fifth inning saw the two teams trade punches, and the score was 16-10 entering the seventh.

It seemed all over with Colorado down 16-12 in the ninth, but they managed arguably the unlikeliest comeback win of the season. They hung a five-run inning on Pirates reliever David Santana, culminating with a 2-run walk-off homer by Brenton Doyle that sent the crowd into raptures.

The Rockies moved to 29-80 on the season, while Pittsburgh fell to 47-63. The Pirates have been one of the coldest teams with the bat this season, and to score 16 runs and lose to the MLB’s worst team must be a bitter pill for the fan base to swallow.

Doyle spoke to reporters after the game:

“Honestly, pretty speechless,” Doyle told reporters. “It’s hard to put into words. Just so proud of everyone in this clubhouse, never giving up. Man, what a win.

“Getting down nine in the first, it’s tough to come back from, but we kept the energy high,” Doyle said. “We kept the fight in us. Oh my God, what a game.”

Game 2 of the three-game series is set for Saturday at 3.10 p.m. EDT.

(Featured image credit: Colorado Rockies/Instagram)