Pirates Rally But Fall in Extras, Get Swept by Guardians

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates erased a three-run deficit in the ninth inning but were defeated 5-4 by the Cleveland Guardians on Kyle Manzardo’s sac fly in the top of the 10th at PNC Park on Easter.

With the loss, the Pirates were swept in their weekend series against Cleveland.

How We Got There

The only runs the Guardians (12-9) got off Pirates starter Mitch Keller came on one swing. Steven Kwan connected on a two-run homer to right in the third inning to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead.

The Pirates (8-15) cut the Guardians’ lead in half in the sixth on an Andrew McCutchen RBI double following a Bryan Reynolds single. It snapped a stretch of 14-consecutive scoreless innings for Pittsburgh. 

Kyle Manzardo homered off Joey Wentz in the top of the seventh, a two-run shot to right to put the Guardians ahead 4-1.

Adam Frazier doubled home a pair in the bottom of the ninth inning to bring the Pirates within a run. He scored on a Ke’Bryan Hayes single to right field to tie the game 4-4.

Key Moment

The Pirates had two on with nobody out in the bottom of the 10th but Oneil Cruz bounced into a double play and Joey Cantillo got Enmanuel Valdez to line out to right to end the game. Cantillo earned his first-career save.

Star of the Game

Manzardo accounted for three of the Guardians’ five runs with his game-winning sac fly and two run home run.

Just a dude named Kyle that pounds left-handed pitching.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/Y12b9KvPFT

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 20, 2025

Notable Pirates’ Performances

• Mitch Keller: 5.0 innings, five hits, two runs, two walks, three strikeouts, 101 pitches/68 strikes
• Bryan Reynolds: 3 for 5, one run
• Tommy Pham: 2 for 4, one double, one run
• Adam Frazier: 1 for 4, one double, two RBI, one run
• Ke’Bryan Hayes: 2 for 5, one RBI
• Andrew McCutchen: 1 for 4, one double, one RBI
• Joey Bart: 1 for 3, two walks

Stat to Know

Mitch Keller has received one run of support over his last five starts (since April 4) while he was in the game.

Noteworthy

• Tommy Pham went 2 for 4, giving him his first multi-hit game since last season on Sept. 11.
• Bryan Reynolds has seven hits over his last three games and is batting .500 (7 for 14) over that span.

Up Next

The Pirates have a much needed day off on Monday before starting a West Coast road trip starting with the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night. LHP Bailey Falter (1-2, 4.91 ERA) will be opposite one time Pirates Rule 5 Draft pick RHP José Soriano (2-2, 3.16 ERA). First pitch: 9:38 p.m. ET.