Pirates split doubleheader with Guardians after bullpen collapses in nightcap
CLEVELAND - A day that began with clear afternoon skies and warm temperatures turned to a downpour, which later gave way to a chilly breeze and blurry nighttime haze.
The atmosphere Saturday above Progressive Field told the story for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who split their doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians in a pair of games that spanned over 10 hours. They won the first game, 7-1, behind three home runs and a strong start from Jared Jones, but a bullpen meltdown in the nightcap resurrected the Guardians, who won 5-3 via a walk-off two-run homer from Travis Bazzana.
Khristian Curtis tossed five scoreless innings in relief in his MLB debut, but Brandon Eisert and Gregory Soto couldn't maintain the lead in the eighth. The winning homer came off Dennis Santana, who has now given up eight runs in his last four appearances.
In Game 1, in his first start with his new club since being traded from the Chicago White Sox, Jacob Gonzalez made quite the impression. He clobbered a hanging sweeper in the second inning of Game 1 for a 428-foot, two-run blast to right field - his first hit as a Pirate.
Gonzalez flashed his right index finger toward the outfield as he rounded first base, and after he returned from the home run trot roughly 30 seconds later, he paraded through the Pirates' dugout in the celebratory welder's mask.
"It was dark. I got scared for a second because I couldn't see," Gonzalez said. "Then I figured it out, so we're good."
Esmerlyn Valdez and Nick Gonzales both homered in the sixth for critical insurance.
Jones (2-1, 4.05 ERA) earned the win, tossing five innings of one-run ball and giving up three hits and striking out nine in 74 pitches. The Pirates knocked seven hits and five runs off Guardians' starter Gavin Williams (10-5, 4.00 ERA), who took the loss.
Jones struck out five of the first six batters he faced, and the only damage came in the third when Travis Bazzana ripped a two-out RBI triple to right field.
"Just trying to go out there with a blank mind," Jones said. "How I describe it is blacking out on the mound. Just trying to trust Henry [Davis], what button he's pressing, and throwing it to the best of my ability."
Leading 2-1, the Pirates added insurance in the sixth when Valdez hit his 11th homer of the season - and fifth in his last five games - and Gonzales followed with a solo shot two at-bats later.
In the second leg of the doubleheader, which began an hour and 15 minutes later than scheduled due to rain, Brandon Lowe opened the scoring in the second inning with a sacrifice fly. In the ensuing frame, Valdez popped a flyball high into the beaming lights and purple haze above shallow right-center field, enough to obstruct the view of the outfielders and drop to the grass for an RBI double.
Making his big league debut after being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis, Curtis covered five scoreless innings and struck out four. The Pirates led 3-0 when Yohan Ramirez took over in the seventh, and he was pulled after runners reached second and third with two outs.
Eisert wriggled out of the jam with a strikeout, but he gave up three hits, including an RBI single to Chase DeLauter, in the eighth. Soto took the ball with runners on the corners and immediately threw a wild pitch that scored a Guardians run. Then, on the next at-bat, Kahlil Watson ripped a game-tying single to right field.
The Pirates were retired in order in the top of the ninth before Bazzana's walkoff.
On the mound
Jones had retired 30 consecutive batters - becoming one of just three Pirates to do so since 1957 - before the Guardians' Steven Kwan punched an opposite field two-out single in the bottom of the third.
In three starts this month, Jones holds a 1.20 ERA, 0.53 WHIP and .100 opposing batting average while averaging 7.7 strikeouts per game. He had a rocky few weeks following his return from an elbow injury in late May, but he seemed to have shed any lingering rust from his over-year long absence.
"Hearing those numbers back and sitting back and realizing what I've done over the last three, it's been pretty cool," Jones said.
Carmen Mlodzinski bridged the Pirates into the ninth with three scoreless innings before Isaac Mattson closed the final frame.
In Game 2, Mason Montgomery opened with a clean inning before Curtis mostly cruised. The 24-year-old threw 68 pitches and used his slider for three of his four strikeouts. His performance marked the longest scoreless relief outing by a Pirate in his MLB debut since Steve Blass hurled five shutout frames on May 10, 1964, against the Milwaukee Braves.
All three Guardians runs in the eighth were charged to Eisert, who has a 7.71 ERA in the month of July. Santana was charged with the loss, marking his fifth of the season.
At the plate
Gonzalez went 2 for 4 with his third homer of the season and a hard-hit single, and six other Pirates tallied a hit in Game 1. Bryan Reynolds, Lowe and Gonzales had two hits apiece. Ryan O'Hearn hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to move his season tally to 64 RBIs - a new career-best after hitting 63 last season.
Reynolds doubled in both games, and Valdez and Gonzales notched a hit in both, as well. The Pirates did leave runs on the table in Game 2, however, as they batted 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
Bucs bites
- Prior to the first game of the doubleheader, the Pirates transferred Oneil Cruz (left hand fourth and fifth metacarpal non-displaced fractures) to the 60-day injured list to make room for Curtis. Kelly said Cruz hasn't experienced any setbacks in his rehab. He'll now be eligible to come off the injured list on Aug. 7.
The Pirates also reinstated Wilber Dotel from the 15-day injured list, and he was added as the 27th man for Saturday's doubleheader. Dotel (right lat muscle strain) made two relief appearances and one start in his rehab assignment between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, posting a 1.93 ERA and striking out seven across 4 2/3 innings.
- Braxton Ashcraft was initially scheduled to pitch the second game of the series against the Guardians, but Kelly said the 26-year-old All-Star will now open the series against the New York Yankees on Monday. Bubba Chandler and Mitch Keller will be pushed back to start on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
- Additionally, Kelly said Endy Rodriguez (left glute strain) started hitting on Friday in Florida, and Spencer Horwitz (left hamstring strain) is "trending in a good direction." Still, he said there is no set timeline for either to begin their rehab assignments.
Up next
Paul Skenes (8-8, 3.57) will get the ball for the Pirates at 1:40 p.m. ET Sunday as they hope to leave Cleveland with a series victory. Joey Cantillo (8-4, 3.56) will start for the Guardians.
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This story was originally published July 18, 2026 at 2:21 PM.