Homers from Marcell Ozuna, Ryan O'Hearn lead Pirates to series win against Athletics

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jun 18, 2026

Published in Baseball

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WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tuesday’s win was one the Pirates needed. Wednesday’s win, clinching a series, may have been just as important.

The Pirates beat the Athletics 12-4 on Wednesday night at Sutter Health Park, taking the final two games of the series. Ryan O’Hearn went 3 for 5 with six RBIs; Marcell Ozuna added a solo homer; and the Pirates racked up five doubles and 16 hits, tied for the third-most this season.

The Pirates took a 3-0 lead four batters into the game, led 7-0 after four innings and added five in the seventh to earn a commanding victory.

Braxton Ashcraft started for the Pirates and delivered six solid innings. He allowed just one hit in the first five innings, ending the day with two runs allowed (one earned) on four hits and three walks. He struck out seven.

His offense gave him a lead to protect. Spencer Horwitz, Bryan Reynolds and O’Hearn all doubled in the first four batters against A’s right-hander Aaron Civale, fresh off the injured list, giving Ashcraft a three-run cushion before an out had been recorded.

Brandon Lowe, who walked in the first, and Reynolds added RBI singles against Civale in the second. Civale lasted just three innings, and O’Hearn greeted lefty Jose Suarez with a two-run homer just inside of the left field foul line as soon as Civale was pulled.

The Pirates added five more against right-handers Scott Barlow and Luis Medina in the seventh. Ozuna started the inning with a homer, then a single, two hit batters and a Horwitz walk brought in a run. Lowe had a sacrifice fly, then O’Hearn plated two more with a single to give the Pirates a double-digit lead.

The Pirates had dropped three series in a row after winning five of six against the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros. They’ll head to Colorado a game above .500 (38-37).

It was over when…

Ashcraft got out of the sixth with just two runs allowed. The A’s brought two runs in and had two more on after a Jared Triolo error, but Ashcraft struck out Zack Gelof and Lawrence Butler to keep the lead secure. The Pirates added five more as soon as the inning was done.

Butler had a night he’d surely love to forget. Beyond going 0 for 4 with four strikeouts at the plate, his misplays turned two routine fly balls in right field into doubles for Reynolds and Henry Davis.

On the mound

Ashcraft evenly split his pitches, throwing his curveball, four-seam, sinker and slider for roughly 20 percent each of his 93 pitches. Five of his 10 whiffs and four of seven strikeouts came on the curveball.

Evan Sisk allowed a Henry Bolte solo homer in the seventh, but no other damage. Dennis Santana and Isaac Mattson closed it out, though Mattson allowed a leadoff solo shot to Gelof in the ninth. Mattson struck out two of the next three batters.

At the plate

Every hitter in the lineup managed at least one hit. Every starter except Nick Gonzales scored a run, and Gonzales still went 2 for 5 with two singles.

Horwitz doubled twice, walked twice and scored three runs. Ozuna went 2 for 5 after sitting in the prior five games. Triolo singled twice, was hit by a pitch and scored two runs.

Bucs Bites

• Davis’s double was his first non-homer extra-base hit since April 7. He was hit by a pitch and scored in the seventh.

• Santana struck out two of the three batters he faced in the eighth, both looking. He’s thrown five consecutive scoreless appearances, allowing no baserunners in four of them.

Up next

The Pirates are off Thursday before beginning a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies (28-47) at Coors Field on Friday night. Bubba Chandler (2-7, 4.76 ERA) will face Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland (1-7, 7.98), with first pitch scheduled for 8:40 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh and broadcast on the radio on 93.7 The Fan.