The Pirates blew a two-run lead in the eighth but pushed back with a four-run ninth thanks to a massive Oneil Cruz blast off the top of the foul pole.
Joe Block has the story of a Bucco win in Texas.
Manager Donnie Kelly was awestruck by Cruz’s home run.
Kelly was impressed by the performance of Braxton Ashcraft, who pitched in front of many of his family members in his first big league appearance in his native Texas.
Bryan Reynolds and Spencer Horwitz both had two hits for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen started the Ranger’s two-run rally off Gregory Soto with a pinch-hit single to lead off the bottom of the eighth, snapping an 0-for-15 slump for the former Pirate.
The series in Texas concludes tonight before the Bucs move on to Milwaukee this weekend. Rookie Bubba Chandler [1-1, 3.15 ERA] pitches for the Pirates against two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom [1-0, 2.29 ERA] for the Rangers. Airtime is 7:40, first pitch at 8:05 on WCCS.
ALTOONA CURVE
Altoona’s Peyton Stumbo, Jarod Bayless, and Landon Tomkins combined to shut down the Harrisburg offense, Duce Gourson had three hits and stole three bases, and Titus Dumitru homered for the second straight game as the Curve beat the Senators, 6-1. Jesus Castillo had two hits to push his batting average over the .300 mark.
Game three of the series is tonight in Harrisburg, with the Curve sending Po-Yu Chen to the mound.
