The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Cleveland Guardians 7-1 Sunday afternoon and took two of three games in their weekend series. Paul Skenes earned his third straight victory, striking out eight over seven innings. Centerfielder Billy Cook led the Bucs with three hits. He scored twice and drove in two runs. Esmerlyn Valdez hit his 12th home run of the season.
The Pirates and Guardians split a Saturday doubleheader after Friday’s game was postponed. The Bucs won the early game 7-1. Jared Jones went five innings, allowing just a run on three hits while striking out nine. The Guardians came back to win the night-cap 5-3 after the Pirates bullpen allowed five runs in the eighth and ninth innings.
The Pirates are now in New York to face the Yankees for their next three games. First pitch tonight is 7:05pm. Pre-game on WISR begins at 6:40pm. Braxton Ashcraft is scheduled to start tonight, He enters the game with a 9-3 record and a 3.49 ERA.
The Bucs are now tied for a National League Wild Card spot with St. Louis and Miami. They remain 10-1/2 games behind first-place Milwaukee.
The post Pirates book-end Cleveland series with 7-1 victories/Tie for a Wild Card spot appeared first on ButlerRadio.com – Butler, PA.