Pirates comeback falls short vs. Guardians; Cruz does it again

Guardians Pirates Baseball Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski, center, hands the ball to manager Derek Shelton, left, as he heads to the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

By Danny Demilio: PGHBaseballNOW.com

PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on PGHBaseballNOW.com.

Despite trailing by as many as eight runs, the Pittsburgh Pirates brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth but the comeback attempt came up short in a 10-7 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at PNC Park on Friday night.

For the second time in as many games, Oneil Cruz led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run. It also marked his third home run in his last three games and fifth home run of the season.

The Guardians (10-9) jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Bo Naylor hit a solo homer to center off Carmen Mlodzinski (1-3) and Kyle Manzardo plated another with a double.

The Pirates (8-13) answered in the bottom of the inning on Joey Bart’s single to plate Andrew McCutchen, who walked and stole his first base of the season.

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