Pirates Comeback Falls Short in Extra Innings vs. Guardians
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made a late comeback vs. the Cleveland Guardians, but it wasn't enough, as they lost in extra innings at PNC Park, 5-4.
The Pirates, with this loss, suffer a sweep, as the Guardians won the first two games of the series as well, 10-7 on April 18 and 3-0 on April 19. They drop to 8-15 overall and 6-7 at home this season.
Pirates right-handed pitcher Mitch Keller made his fifth start of the season and got through the first two innings with relative ease.
He allowed a leadoff single to Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio in the top of the third inning. All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan would crush a ball into the right field seats off of Keller right, putting the road team up 2-0.
The Pirates finally got some offense off of Guardians starting left-handed pitcher Logan Allen in the bottom of the fourth inning, as right fielder Bryan Reynolds got to first base on a leadoff single.
Designated hitter Andrew McCutchen would hit a grounder, with Reynolds out at second base, but still made it to first base safely. Catcher Joey Bart then singled and McCutchen moved to second base with one out.
Center fielder Alexander Canario hit a fly out to center field, moving McCutchen to third base, but first baseman Jared Triolo grounded out to end the inning.
Keller would finish his day with the Pirates after throwing 101 pitches in five innings, allowing five hits, two walks and two earned runs, while posting three strikeouts.
He also has also received just one run of support in his past four outings, with the Pittsburgh offense not coming through for him.
Right-handed pitcher Justin Lawrence relieved Keller in the top of the sixth inning. He would immediately hit Guardians designated hitter Carlos Santana and then allowed a double to right field off of second baseman Gabriel Arias, moving Santana to third base.
Lawrence got Guardians center fielder Angel Martinez to ground to Triolo at first base, who threw it to Bart at home and he tagged out Santana for the first out.
Guardians catcher Austin Hedges then grounded to Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier, who threw it to Bart, who again, tagged out Arias at home for the second out.
Lawrence then got Rocchio to fly out to center field, which Canario would almost miss, but recuperated and tracked it down to end that half of the inning scoreless.
Reynolds singled to left with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning and then McCutchen hit a slow roller down the left field line for a double, scoring Reynolds to make it 2-1.
Bart would walk, putting two runners one out for the Pirates, but both Canario and pinch-hitter Enmanuel Valdez struckout, ending the inning.
Pirates left-handed pitcher Joey Wentz got the first two outs of the seventh inning, but then allowed a single to Guardians All-Star third baseman José Ramírez and first baseman Kyle Manzardo would hit a two-run home run, making it a 4-1 game.
Pittsburgh got back-to-back singles from shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Reynolds flew out to Kwan, ending another opportunity.
The Pirates started the bottom of the ninth inning off with Valdez walking and then left fielder Tommy Pham hitting a ball off of Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase to deep center field, making it to second base on a double and moving Valdez to third base.
Frazier then came through with a double, scoring both Valdez and Pham and trimming the deficit to 4-3.
NOT DONE YET.
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) April 20, 2025
Adam Frazier with a 2-RBI double in the bottom of the 9th!! pic.twitter.com/O3qZyxGJYp
Kiner-Falefa would fly out to center field, but Frazier stole third base on the next at-bat. Hayes then came through with a single, scoring Frazier and tying it up at 4-4.
Ke'BRYAN HAYES TIES THE GAME IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 9TH!!!!!!!!
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) April 20, 2025
RBI single off of Emmanuel Clase pic.twitter.com/J9tLRQGo9W
The Pirates would try to win it, as Reynolds hit a ball that bounced off Clase, who failed to pick it up and throw out Reynolds, moving Hayes to second base with one out.
McCutchen then grounded into a double play, ending that opportunity and sending the game into extra innings.
The Guardians scored pinch-hitter Jhonkensy Noel in the top of the 10th inning, as Ramírez grounded out after a nice play from Frazier, moving Noel to third base, and Manzardo hit a sacrifice fly to Pham in left field, allowing Noel to come home and take a 5-4 lead.
Bart walked to start the bottom of the 10th inning, but Oneil Cruz, who pinch-hit for Canario prior, would hit into a double play.
Valdez worked a full count, but would fly out to right field and the Pirates came up short.
The Pirates will travel out to California, as they take on the Los Angeles Angels for a three game series in Anaheim, starting April 22.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.