Pirates Comeback Falls Short vs. Guardians; Cruz Does it AGAIN

PITTSBURGH — Despite trailing by as many as eight runs, the Pittsburgh Pirates brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth but the comeback attempt came up short in a 10-7 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at PNC Park on Friday night.

How We Got There

For the second time in as many games, Oneil Cruz led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run. It also marked his third home run in his last three games and fifth home run of the season.

The Guardians (10-9) jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Bo Naylor hit a solo homer to center off Carmen Mlodzinski (1-3) and Kyle Manzardo plated another with a double. 

The Pirates (8-13) answered in the bottom of the inning on Joey Bart’s single to plate Andrew McCutchen, who walked and stole his first base of the season.

Naylor continued to do damage in the top of the fourth. He put Cleveland back out in front with a two-run double. 

After Jose Ramírez opened the fifth with a double, Mlodzinski was relieved by Joey Wentz. Ramirez scored on a ground ball off the bat of former Pirate Carlos Santana, who got credits with an RBI and reached on an error by third baseman Jared Triolo. 

Cleveland blew the game open with a five-run inning with all runs charged to Kyle Nicolas. 

Bryan Reynolds hit a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh, his third homer of the year. Two batters later, Enmanuel Valdez slugged his first Pirates’ homer with a two-run shot to center.

Reynolds and Valdez each recorded RBIs in the bottom of the ninth but the former was thrown out at third base on the latter’s double for the second out.

The Guardians went to closer Emmanuel Clase, who walked Bart before striking out Jack Suwinski for his third save. Suwinski struck out four times n the loss.

Key Moment

The Guardians poured it on in the seventh and put the game out of reach. Jhonkensy Noel plated a pair, as did Gabriel Arias. Brayan Rocchio was responsible for the fifth run with a sac fly. 

Star of the Game

Bo Naylor finished the game 3 for 4 with a home run, a double and three RBI. It was his first three-hit game since last year on June 30.

Notable Pirates’ Performances

• Carmen Mlodzinski: 4.0 innings, nine hits, five runs, two walks, no strikeouts, 64 pitches/45 strikes
• Kyle Nicolas: 0.1 innings, three hits, five runs, two walks, one strikeout, 26 pitches/12 strikes
• Bryan Reynolds: 3 for 5, one home run, two RBI, one run
• Enmanuel Valdez: 2 for 4, one home run, one double, three RBI, one run
• Oneil Cruz: 1 for 4, one home run, one RBI, one run, one walk
• Andrew McCutchen: 1 for 4, two runs, one steal

Stat to Know

Oneil Cruz became only the second Major League player since at least 1900 to hit a grand slam and two leadoff home runs in a three-game span. The other was Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon in 2016.

A LO PROFUNDOOO 💣 pic.twitter.com/gh1qe75bCZ

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 18, 2025

Noteworthy

• Luis Ortiz (2-2), who pitched for the Pirates from 2022-24, got the win after holding Pittsburgh to two runs in 5.0 innings.
• Former Pirates outfielder Jason Bay was on-hand to honor Paul Skenes for winning National League Rookie of the Year. The two are the only players in team history to win the honor.

Up Next

RHP Paul Skenes (2-1, 2.96 ERA) will make his fifth start of the season for the Pirates on Saturday. RHP Ben Lively (0-2, 4.87 ERA) will start for Cleveland. First pitch: 4:05 p.m. ET.