For seven innings, Pittsburgh's early lead looked like it would hold. Then Cleveland flipped the script in the final two frames, scoring five unanswered runs to beat the Pirates 5-3 at Progressive Field.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| CLE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 1 |
Travis Bazzana delivered the blow that put the game away, going 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and two walks. His two-run shot to center in the ninth, a 414-foot drive that scored Kwan alongside him, turned a tied game into a Cleveland lead the Pirates never got back. Steven Kwan set the stage all night, finishing 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, including the one that came around on Bazzana's homer.
Cleveland's rally began in earnest in the eighth. Chase DeLauter's single to right brought home Kwan to cut the deficit to 3-1. Brayan Rocchio then scored on a wild pitch from Gregory Soto to make it 3-2, and Kahlil Watson's single to right brought in DeLauter to tie the game at 3-3. That set up Bazzana's ninth-inning homer, which turned the tie into the final margin.
Pittsburgh had built its lead methodically. Brandon Lowe's sacrifice fly to right scored O'Hearn in the second, Esmerlyn Valdez doubled home Nick Gonzales in the third, and Jake Mangum reached on an infield single in the fourth that scored Lowe after a throwing error by catcher Austin Hedges, a call Cleveland unsuccessfully challenged. Cleveland starter Logan Allen worked into the fourth, allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, before handing things to the bullpen, which shut the Pirates out the rest of the way, six relievers combining for 5.2 scoreless innings. Pittsburgh's bullpen, by contrast, allowed 5 runs across 7.1 innings as the late rally unfolded.
Cade Smith picked up the win after a scoreless inning of relief with 2 strikeouts, improving to 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA. Cleveland improved to 52-47, second in the division, extending its win streak after Pittsburgh's loss dropped the Pirates to 51-48.