Nick Gonzales, Jacob Gonzalez homer as Pirates beat Yankees in Game 1 of doubleheader

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul 22, 2026

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Need a win? Call Gonzales and Gonzalez.

Nick Gonzales and Jacob Gonzalez both homered and Jared Triolo’s 10th-inning single proved decisive as the Pirates beat the New York Yankees, 5-3 in 10 innings, in Game 1 of a Wednesday doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.

Gregory Soto recorded the save in the 10th. Both Triolo and Jake Mangum had RBI singles against right-harder Fernando Cruz in the top of the inning to earn the win.

Gonzales and Gonzalez hit their homers against Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole, who was otherwise dominant. Cole struck out 11 Pirates, a season high, and retired the first 14 batters of the game before Gonzales singled in the fifth.

Gonzalez followed Gonzales with a homer over the Yankee Stadium short porch in right field, then Gonzales added a solo homer into the right-center field bullpen in the seventh.

The lead stood for much of the game. Mitch Keller came out of the All-Star break with a much better outing, pitching five scoreless innings and allowing three hits, all singles. He walked two and hit a batter but also struck out six and found ways out of the few jams he faced.

The Pirates turned to Carmen Mlodzinski for the sixth inning despite Keller throwing just 75 pitches. The decision made sense, as Keller has had a few shortened outings lately and allowed two hits in the fifth, but Mlodzinski couldn’t hold the lead.

Up 3-0 after Gonzales’ homer, Mlodzinski started the seventh by allowing a soft double and walking No. 9 hitter Austin Wells. After a Trent Grisham popup, Mlodzinski grooved a 3-1 cutter to Ben Rice that he crushed for a game-tying blast.

The Pirates had an opportunity against David Bednar in the ninth. With two on and one out, Ryan O’Hearn struck out and Gonzales’ grounder was stopped by a diving Rice at first. The inning was Bednar’s 18th consecutive scoreless appearance.

On the mound

Before the All-Star break, Keller said he was looking forward to taking the time to “hone in” on mechanics. It seems they also reevaluated some of his pitch mix.

Keller used his cutter and slider slightly more than he typically has throughout the season, throwing 16% cutters (typically 8%) and 15% sliders (typically 9%) while largely scrapping his sinker and sweeper. He threw just two sweepers, a pitch he typically throws 17% of the time.

It was Keller’s first scoreless outing since April 8 and best since May 24, when he allowed one run in six innings against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Mason Montgomery pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, getting the game to extras and earning the win.

At the plate

The Pirates had just four hits against Cole but made them count. Mangum added a single in the sixth, finishing the game 2 for 5 with a stolen base.

Esmerlyn Valdez saw his streak of eight consecutive games with an RBI and an extra-base hit end, the Pirates’ longest RBI streak since Kevin Young in 1999 and extra-base streak since Sid Bream in 1986.

Bucs bites

— Spencer Horwitz (left hamstring strain) began a rehab assignment on Tuesday at Low-A Bradenton. He went 1 for 1, walked twice and scored twice while playing five innings at first base.

— Right-hander Noah Murdock was named as the Pirates’ 27th man for the doubleheader. He has a 3.63 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 27 appearances between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis.

Up next

Right-hander Bubba Chandler (3-8, 4.77 ERA) will start against Yankees lefty Max Fried (4-3, 3.21) in the second game of the doubleheader, starting at 7:05 p.m.