Brooms! Pirates Complete Sweep of Orioles; Ashcraft, O’Hearn Lead Charge

Danny Demilio   |  

Apr 5, 2026

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PITTSBURGH — Braxton Ashcraft dazzled on the mound and Ryan O’Hearn carried the offense as the Pittsburgh Pirates completed the sweep and extended their win streak to five games with an 8-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park on Easter Sunday. 

Scoring Plays

Bottom 1st 2-0 PIT: Ryan O’Hearn got the Pirates (6-3) on the board with a two-run home run to center field off Orioles starting pitcher Chris Bassitt. The blast was O’Hearn’s third of the season.

Bottom 2nd, 6-0 PIT: With the bases loaded, Oneil Cruz hit a liner that hit Bassitt (0-2) that went for an RBI infield single. After Bryan Reynolds tacked on another with a sac fly, O’Hearn plated two more runs for the Pirates with a double to left-center.

Top 4th, 6-1 PIT: Pete Alonso doubled home Taylor Ward to give the Orioles (3-6) their first run against Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft.

Bottom 6th, 8-1 PIT: Cruz continued to beat up on left-handed pitcher with a two-run home run to straightaway center off Cade Povich.

Top 7th, 8-2 PIT: Jeremiah Jackson singled home a run off Mason Montgomery.

Key Moments

While Ryan O’Hearn’s homer was his biggest swing, his two-run double capped off a big second inning and provided the Pirates with enough cushion to cruise to a win.

Player of the Game

Braxton Ashcraft (1-1) matched a career-high with six innings, set a career-high with eight strikeouts and didn’t walk a batter while holding the Orioles to just one run.

Stat to Know

Ryan O’Hearn became the fifth Pirates player with at least 11 RBI through the team’s first eight games of the season. The others are Reb Russell (11, 1992), Ed Stevens (13, 1948), Dick Stuart (11, 1958) and Reggie Sanders (11, 2003). His four RBI in this one matched a career-high.

Notable Performances

• Braxton Ashcraft: 6.0 innings, four hits, one run, no walks, eight strikeouts, 87 pitches/54 strikes
• Ryan O’Hearn: 2 for 5, one home run, one double four RBI, one run
• Oneil Cruz: 2 for 4, one home run, three RBI, two runs, one HBP
• Jake Mangum: 2 for 4, two runs

Noteworthy

• Sunday’s victory capped off Pittsburgh’s first-ever three-game sweep of Baltimore. The win pushed the Pirates’ winning streak to five games. Pittsburgh entered play tied with the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies for the longest active win streak in MLB.
• Pirates starting pitchers have a 2.13 ERA (10er/42.1ip) over their last seven games. Each starter has allowed two or fewer earned runs in each outing.
• The Pirates placed INF Jared Triolo on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 4) with a right knee patellar tendon injury. OF Billy Cook was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Up Next

The Pirates homestand continues on Monday night when they welcome the San Diego Padres to town. RHP Bubba Chandler (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will start for Pittsburgh opposite RHP Germán Márquez (0-1, 12.00 ERA). First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.

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