Bucs Win Behind Cruz Magic

 The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 at PNC Park on Saturday, April 6th, in the 11th inning off the bat of O’Neil Cruz. Cruz drove in the automatic runner, Henry Davis, with a single to right field, which marked the second walk-off of his career.


The Pirates won the second game of the series against the O’s and improved to 7-2 on the season, with the rubber match of the series coming tomorrow. The Bucs are currently off to their best start to a season since 2018, and a win tomorrow would mean the ball club's best start since 1962. 


The Buccos outhit the Orioles 11-4 in the contest and recorded one error to the O’s zero. Josh Fleming earned the win after retiring the side in the top of the 11th. Bailey Falter had his best start of the season, giving up one hit and no runs over 6.0 innings of work. 


Joey Bart homered in his first at-bat as a Pirate, which marks the second player this season to hit a home run in their first at-bat with the team. Bart went 2-5 with a 2-RBI home run and a double. Bart was acquired from the San Francisco Giants on April 2nd in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Austin Strickland.


How It Happened


The Bucs jumped to an early 3-0 lead following a Rowdy Tellez single in the second that brought home Edward Olivares and Bart’s 410-foot 2 RBI homerun. The score remained until the top of the 7th inning when two sacrifice hits from Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays earned the Orioles two runs. The O’s would score again in the top of the ninth following a Mullins fielder’s choice hit which evened the game at 3-3 and sent the contest to extra innings. 


Mullin’s hit came off of David Bednar, the Pirates perennial all-star closer. It was Bednar’s second blown save this season. In 2023, Bednar only had three blown saves across 66 games. 


In the top of the 10th, the Orioles got their first lead of the game, as Adley Rutschman hit a sacrifice fly to center that brought Tony Kemp home to make the score 4-3. In the bottom of the 10th, Olivares walked with the bases loaded to bring home Bryan Reynolds, knotting the game at 4-4. The Pirates left the bases loaded following a Be’Bryan Hayes lineout. 

Fleming retired the side in the top of the 11th, which put the Pirates in a position to win in the bottom of the inning. Cruz singled to right field off of a Jonathan Heasley fastball to bring Davis home and walk off the contest. 


“My main goal in those situations like that, I don’t think about being afraid of what’s the situation,” Cruz told the Associated Press following the game. “I just go out there and focus on what I need to be doing at the moment and let the results speak for themselves.” 


The Pirates played in front of 20,198 fans, on Tuesday, as Pittsburgh showed its support for the red-hot Bucs.


“Pittsburgh sports are so back,” said a young fan named Max. “That was awesome to see Cruz hitting [the walk-off single].” 


“I wish Bednar wouldn’t have struggled but I’m glad we got the win,” another fan, Wyatt, said. “I hope he figures it out. He’s a Pittsburgh guy and I hope he fixes whatever is wrong.” 


What’s Next


The Pirates are back in action tomorrow at 1:35 PM at PNC Park for their final game against the Orioles. Marco Gonzales (0-0, 1.80) will start on the mound for the Pirates.


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