Oneil Cruz plays hero once again, driving in game-winning run in Pirates win over Brewers

Noah Hiles, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on May 24, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PITTSBURGH — Mitch Keller and Quinn Priester delivered a show, but in the end, it was Oneil Cruz who once again played hero. After tallying his first career multi-home run game Friday evening, Cruz followed that effort with a go-ahead RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday, ultimately setting up a 2-1 Pirates win over the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park.

Chase Shugart was the game’s winning pitcher, improving to 3-3 on the year. Tyler Alexander, who surrendered Cruz’s clutch hit, suffered the loss, falling to 2-5. David Bednar recorded the save, his fifth of the season.

Spencer Horwitz kicked off the scoring, driving home Bryan Reynolds with a double in the bottom of the first inning. The Brewers equaled the score the following frame, thanks to a two-out single from Caleb Durbin that drove home Christian Yelich. After that, both starters kept the opposition in check.

Keller once again delivered a strong outing, tossing six innings of one-run ball. The veteran right-hander struck out seven and walked none for the first time this season. Six of the seven hits Keller allowed were singles. Keller’s outing marked his fourth straight quality start, but similar to the prior three, he was not the game’s winning pitcher.

Priester played a large role in Keller earning a no-decision. The Pirates’ 2019 first round pick matched Keller’s production, also allowing only one run on a season-high six innings, while also accumulating a season-best seven strikeouts. After allowing a run in the first frame, Priester didn’t allow a Pirates batter to advance past second base for the remainder of his outing.

The Pirates reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the seventh thanks to Cruz. His heroics were made possible by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who reached on a one-out single, and then advanced to second base on a balk. The Brewers did their best to attack the Pirates bullpen, but unlike Friday evening, Don Kelly’s stable of reserve arms held strong and secured the victory.

It was over when …

The final outs were recorded. Despite allowing a go-ahead home run Friday evening, Kelly again chose Bednar to pitch the ninth. His outing started less than ideal, hitting Caleb Durbin with a 1-1 fastball to put the tying run on base. After getting Jake Bauers to fly out to left field, Bednar then allowed Joey Ortiz to single, moving Durbin into scoring position and putting the go-ahead run on base.

With two on, one out and the top of Milwaukee’s order due up, Bednar continued to battle. The two-time All-Star attacked lead-off hitter Brice Turang, eventually forcing him to hit a soft ground ball up the middle. Kiner-Falefa fielded Turang’s slow-roller cleanly, stepped on second and then delivered a crisp throw to first a the game-ending double play.

On the mound

The Pirates bullpen got the job done, but the journey included a share of tense moments. Caleb Ferguson was first out, replacing Keller in the top of the seventh. The veteran left-hander recorded two outs and left with the bases loaded. Shugart was called upon to finish the frame and successfully did so, getting 2024 National League Rookie of the Year finalist Jackson Chourio to fly out to right field to strand all three runners.

Dennis Santana then took over in the eighth, allowing a leadoff single to start his outing. However, unlike Ferguson, Santana allowed no further damage, striking out both Yelich and Rhys Hoskins before getting Sal Frelick to line out to right to end the frame. Bednar then finished the job, after dancing out of his own aforementioned jam.

At the plate

Horwitz’s RBI double in the first inning snapped an 0 for 7 streak. He added another two-base knock to his credit in the bottom of the eighth inning. Those doubles accounted for two of the Pirates three extra-base hits, with the other belonging to Cruz. In total, the Pirates tallied nine hits in their victory, two fewer than Milwaukee.

Most valuable player

Cruz, who finished 2 for 4 with a triple and the game-winning RBI.

Up next

The Pirates and Brewers conclude their four-game set on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET. Bailey Falter (3-3, 3.50) will be on the hill for the Pirates, facing off against right-hander Logan Henderson (3-0, 1.69).

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