Jared Jones takes no-hitter into seventh inning and Pirates get back over .500 with a rare road sweep

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sep 10, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

On a day the Pirates lost one of their top young right-handers to injury— at least temporarily — another top young right-hander stepped up.

Jared Jones took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, allowing a two-out Colson Montgomery double but no other damage to lead the Pirates to a 2-0, sweep-completing victory against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night at Rate Field in Chicago.

The Pirates, who have won four in a row and 11 of their last 15 games, are back over .500 at 74-73. Thursday’s win clinched their first road sweep since taking three in a row in San Francisco before the 2025 trade deadline.

A 1-0 lead held for much of the game. Oneil Cruz pummeled an Erick Fedde change-up to lead off the fourth inning, a homer that landed deep into the seats in right-center field. The blast was hit at 117.4 mph, the fifth-hardest hit ball in the majors this year, and traveled 433 feet (Statcast originally said it went 467 feet).

Cruz added more insurance in the eighth. Jared Triolo reached on a bloop single, stole second, then scored on Cruz’s single to right. Cruz finished the game 3 for 4.

With a dominant Jones on the mound, that was enough. Jones walked two and struck out eight in seven innings, his longest start of the year. He threw 90 pitches, 61 for strikes, and likely would have been done after seven innings even if the no-hitter was still alive.

Ninety pitches were the second most he’s thrown this year, one less than he threw Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels.

Jake Mangum made a diving catch on a sinking liner to start the seventh inning, briefly keeping the no-no intact and earning points from Jones. But Montgomery’s deep fly ball bounced off the top of the wall in right field, breaking it up. All Jones could do was grin.

It was over when …

The Pirates’ bullpen held the lead. Luke Weaver threw a stress-free 1-2-3 eighth inning before Mason Montgomery recorded his 12th save in the ninth.

Randall Grichuk led off the ninth with a single up the middle against Montgomery. But Brandon Lowe made two strong defensive plays at second base for the first two outs, then Montgomery struck out Edgar Quero to strand Grichuk at third.

On the mound

Like his start Saturday, Jones’ slider was excellent. He recorded whiffs on 12 of the 21 Chicago swings against the pitch, tallying 20 overall. He threw just enough change-ups and curveballs to keep the White Sox honest, though he did strike out Sam Antonacci with the change.

The White Sox didn’t hit a ball over 100 mph until Montgomery’s double.

After a shaky inning on Wednesday, Weaver was far better on Thursday. He struck out two and recorded five whiffs on 11 swings.

At the plate

Cruz was the only offense of note for the Pirates. Nick Gonzales hit an opposite-field double in the sixth, while Rafael Flores, Spencer Horwitz and Triolo added singles.

The Pirates only struck out six times in a White Sox bullpen game. Lefty Hagen Smith started and threw two scoreless innings before Fedde spun 5 1/3. Fedde was charged with both runs, although Cruz’s single came against lefty Bryan Hudson.

Bucs bites

— Ryan O’Hearn did not appear in Triple-A Indianapolis’ game on Thursday after playing Tuesday and Wednesday. He went 1 for 6 with a double, a walk, a run scored and two strikeouts in those two appearances.

— Jones completed seven innings for the first time since Sept. 8, 2024.

Up next

The Pirates will stay in Chicago, heading north to begin a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Pirates have not announced their starter in what would have been Braxton Ashcraft’s spot, while the Cubs will throw Pirates nemesis Shota Imanaga (9-10, 3.91 ERA). Imanaga, a lefty, has a career 0.24 ERA in six starts (38 innings) against the Pirates. The game is scheduled for 2:20 p.m.