Pirates' bats come alive in a win against the Cubs

Elliott Inscho, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul 26, 2026

Published in Baseball

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PITTSBURGH — Following a shutout loss in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bats woke up in a major way on Sunday to avoid a series sweep against the Chicago Cubs.

Esmerlyn Valdez, Shawn Ross and Ryan O’Hearn teed off on former Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon, each hitting a home run to fuel the Pirates’ 8-7 victory. Still, the Pirates had to work in order to fend off a late Cubs rally at PNC Park.

After a shutout opening frame for both squads, Braxton Ashcraft nearly got out of the second inning untouched as well. He worked Pedro Ramirez to a 2-2 count, but the Cubs’ third baseman hit a grounder in between Nick Gonzales and Jacob Gonzalez to keep Ashcraft on the mound.

Dansby Swanson singled on the very next pitch to knock in the first run for the Cubs. Leading off in the bottom half, Valdez quickly tied the score back up, delivering a 405-foot solo shot into left field.

In just his second major-league at-bat, Ross got all of a Taillon cutter to collect his first hit and home run in the same swing. The ball left his bat at 110.6 miles per hour, traveling 438 feet into the left-field second deck.

The Cubs’ bleeding only got worse in the next inning. After knocks from Brandon Lowe and Bryan Reynolds, Valdez worked a four-pitch walk to load the bases.

O’Hearn turned on the ball and watched it sail over the right-center field railing, giving the Pirates a dominant 7-1 lead with his second grand slam of the season.

Chicago battled back, as a groundout from Carson Kelly and a single from Ramirez brought home two runs in subsequent at-bats.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, having bagged six hits and a pair of homers in the first two games of the series, tripled to plate another and cut the Pirates’ lead to three runs.

Valdez batted in another run in the fifth inning with a single that scored Lowe, who doubled earlier in the frame. The Pirates threatened again soon after, with a single out and the bases loaded again, but Gonzalez grounded into a double play to get Cubs reliever Ryan Rolison out of the jam.

Carmen Mlodzinski gave up three straight hits in the eighth, the third of which plating a fifth run for the Cubs after Nico Hoerner powered a line drive over Gonzalez’ head to bring home Michael Busch.

It was over when …

Mason Montgomery fanned Ian Happ to seal the deal in the ninth inning.

While the Pirates had a 7-1 lead in the third inning, the game got too close for them to be comfortable down the stretch, especially when Montgomery allowed a two-run homer to Seiya Suzuki to bring the Cubs within a single run.

On the mound

Outside of the three-run fourth frame, Ashcraft was generally strong. He allowed four runs through six innings of work, striking out five and walking two.

His arsenal mostly consisted of curveballs and sliders, with the two pitches making up 62% of those he threw on Sunday. The curveball in particular generated a 50% whiff rate, as Cubs batters swung and missed seven times when he threw the pitch.

Ashcraft topped out at 98.0 miles per hour with his fastball, though none of his five punchouts came from the pitch. He bounced back from allowing a trio of runs in the fourth inning by sitting down six consecutive Cubs in the two frames to follow.

Valdez’ lead-padding single helped to further seal the deal, but the righty starter’s ability to fend off the Chicago rally proved to be decisive.

Mlodzinski relieved Ashcraft in the seventh inning, and retired the side in order with only eight pitches. He got some help from an athletic catch by Valdez, and struck out Suzuki with three straight strikes to end the frame after falling to a 2-0 count.

Things started to get shaky in his second inning on the mound, but he tightened up after surrendering the run to get out of the eighth frame.

The three consecutive knocks were the only hits that Mlodzinski allowed in his two innings, and he struck out two without walking anyone.

At the plate

The Pirates finished with 11 hits, six coming in the four innings that Taillon was on the mound.

Valdez reached base three times, drawing a walk to go along with his’ two-hit, two-RBI game, to improve his rookie-season batting average to .293.

O’Hearn sandwiched his grand slam with walks in the second and fifth innings, and Lowe went 3 for 4 with a double.

Bucs bites

— Endy Rodriguez played nine innings on a rehab assignment for Triple-A Indianapolis. He is expected to return to Pittsburgh for an evaluation after the game, with a chance to be activated Monday.

— Spencer Horwitz did not play in Low-A Bradenton’s game Sunday. He homered Saturday, but was hit in the head with a pitch. GM Ben Cherington said he would be evaluated Sunday morning.

Up next

The Pirates will open a series with the Arizona Diamondbacks at 6:40 p.m. ET Monday, another club in the mix for a National League wild-card spot. Mitch Keller (6-7, 4.90 ERA) will take the mound against fellow right-hander Merrill Kelly (8-8, 5.12 ERA), who’s posted a 2.45 ERA in four July starts.

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