Jacob Gonzalez hits home run as Pirates open doubleheader with 7-1 win vs. Guardians

Matt Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul 18, 2026

Published in Baseball

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CLEVELAND — Jacob Gonzalez flashed his right index finger toward the outfield as he rounded first base, and after he returned from the home run trot roughly 30 seconds later, he paraded through the Pirates’ dugout in the celebratory welder’s mask.

“It was dark. I got scared for a second because I couldn’t see,” Gonzalez said. “Then I figured it out, so we’re good.”

In his first start with his new club since being traded from the Chicago White Sox, playing shortstop and batting eighth, Gonzalez made quite the impression.

He clobbered a hanging sweeper in the second inning for a 428-foot, two-run blast to right field — his first hit as a Pirate. Esmerlyn Valdez and Nick Gonzales both homered in the sixth and the Pirates beat the Guardians, 7-1, in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Progressive Field.

“This team is a lot of fun,” Gonzalez said. “We’re here to win, and I’m happy to come here and be a part of that. I hope we just keep going.”

Jared Jones (2-1, 4.05 ERA) earned the win, tossing five innings of one-run ball, giving up three hits and striking out nine in 74 pitches. The Pirates knocked seven hits and five runs off Guardians’ starter Gavin Williams (10-5, 4.00 ERA), who took the loss.

Jones struck out five of the first six batters he faced, and the only damage came in the third when Travis Bazzana ripped a two-out RBI triple to right field.

“Just trying to go out there with a blank mind,” Jones said. “How I describe it is blacking out on the mound. Just trying to trust Henry [Davis], what button he’s pressing, and throwing it to the best of my ability.”

Leading 2-1, the Pirates added insurance in the sixth when Valdez hit his 11th homer of the season — and fifth in his last five games — and Gonzales followed with a solo shot two at-bats later.

It was over when …

Valdez and Gonzales went deep in the sixth inning to put the Pirates ahead, 5-1.

On the mound

Jones had retired 30 consecutive batters — becoming one of just three Pirates to do so since 1957 — before the Guardians’ Steven Kwan punched an opposite field two-out single in the bottom of the third.

In three starts this month, Jones holds a 1.20 ERA, 0.53 WHIP and .100 opposing batting average while averaging 7.7 strikeouts per game. He had a rocky few weeks following his return from an elbow injury in late May, but he seemed to have shed any lingering rust from his over-year long absence.

“Hearing those numbers back and sitting back and realizing what I’ve done over the last three, it’s been pretty cool,” Jones said.

Carmen Mlodzinski bridged the Pirates into the ninth with three scoreless innings before Isaac Mattson closed the final frame.

At the plate

Gonzalez went 2 for 4 with his third homer of the season and a hard-hit single, and six other Pirates tallied a hit. Brandon Lowe, Bryan Reynolds and Gonzales had two hits apiece. Ryan O’Hearn hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to move his season tally to 64 RBIs — a new career-best after hitting 63 last season.

Bucs bites

— Prior to the first game of the doubleheader, the Pirates transferred Oneil Cruz (left hand fourth and fifth metacarpal non-displaced fractures) to the 60-day injured list to make room for right-handed reliever Khristian Curtis, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Indianapolis. Kelly said Cruz hasn’t experienced any setbacks in his rehab. He’ll now be eligible to come off the injured list on Aug. 7.

The Pirates also reinstated Wilber Dotel from the 15-day injured list, and he was added as the 27th man for Saturday’s doubleheader. Dotel (right lat muscle strain) made two relief appearances and one start in his rehab assignment between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, posting a 1.93 ERA and striking out seven across 4 2/3 innings.

— Braxton Ashcraft was initially scheduled to pitch the second game of the series against the Guardians, but Kelly said the 26-year-old All-Star will now open the series against the New York Yankees on Monday. Bubba Chandler and Mitch Keller will be pushed back to start on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

— Additionally, Kelly said Endy Rodriguez (left glute strain) started hitting on Friday in Florida, and Spencer Horwitz (left hamstring strain) is “trending in a good direction.” Still, he said there is no set timeline for either to begin their rehab assignments.

Up next

The Pirates aim to sweep their second doubleheader within the last week at 7:10 p.m. Mason Montgomery will open for the Pirates in a bullpen effort, and Logan Allen will be making his first start of the season for the Guardians.