PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on PGHBaseballNOW.com.
Esmerlyn Valdez and Spencer Horwitz each homered for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who pounded the Chicago Cubs 12-1 at PNC Park on Tuesday night for a third straight win.
Scoring Plays
Bottom 1st, 5-0 PIT: Esmerlyn Valdez’s two-run home run to left-center capped off a five-run inning of Jordan Wicks (0-1) in his season debut. Earlier in the inning, Bryan Reynolds pated a pair with a double to left and Oneil Cruz had an RBI single to left.
Top 2nd, 5-1 PIT: After Alex Bregman opened the inning with a double to left-center, Ian Happ followed with an RBI double to center off Braxton Ashcraft (4-2).
Bottom 5th, 8-1 PIT: Nick Gonzales plated Brandon Lowe with a base hit to right field. Later in the inning, after Wicks was taken out of the game, Valdez drew a bases-loaded walk against Ryan Rolison to push across another run. The Pirates (29-26) tacked on another run on Spencer Horwitz’s sacrifice fly to deep center. All three runs in the inning were charged to Wicks.
Bottom 6th, 9-1 PIT: Konnor Griffin, who snapped an 0-for-13 skid with a leadoff single, scored from second base on a throwing error from third baseman Bregman.
Bottom 7th, 10-1 PIT: Horwitz put the Pirates in double digits with a solo home run to right field off Daniel Palencia. Horwitz’s sixth homer of the season traveled 359 feet.
Bottom 8th, 12-1 PIT: Pinch-hitter Jake Mangum bounced out to third against Hoby Milner. Jared Triolo scored from third base. Marcell Ozuna followed with an RBI single to center field.
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