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Photo provided by Eddie Provident

PITTSBURGH — The Tampa Bay Rays entered Friday’s game with a six-game win streak, but the Pittsburgh Pirates, as has been the case since dropping the first two games of the season, refused to lose a second straight game.

Bubba Chandler pitched a gem and Oneil Cruz hit a big home run to lift the Pirates (12-8) to a 5-1 win over the Rays (11-8) at PNC Park.

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Scoring Plays

Bottom 2nd, 1-0 PIT: Marcell Ozuna singled, advanced to second and scored on Spencer Horwitz’s double into the right field corner off Nick Martinez (0-1).

Top 6th, 1-1: Junior Caminero evened the score with an RBI single off Bubba Chandler with two outs. Chandler Simpson, who scored on the play, singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch.

Bottom 6th, 3-1 PIT: The Pirates took the lead right back in the bottom of the inning when Oneil Cruz lined a two-run home run off over the Clemente Wall in right field.

Bottom 8th, 5-1 PIT: Brandon Lowe padded the lead with a two-run double off the wall in right-center field against Yoendrys Gómez.

Key Moments

Bubba Chandler (1-1) escaped a two-on, two-out jam in the top of the sixth inning and the Pirates capitalized on a two-out chance in the bottom of the inning with Oneil Cruz’s home run on a 2-2 pitch.

ONEIL CRUZ…WHERE DO I BEGIN?! pic.twitter.com/ErBJqU1Uoa

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 18, 2026

Player of the Game

Bubba Chandler tied a career-high with six innings and had a season-low one walk. He held the Rays to one run on three hits and got his first win of the season.

Stat to Know

Spencer Horwitz, who went 3 for 3 with an RBI double off Nick Martinez, is now 10 for 10 with three doubles, a home run, four RBI and two walks in his career against the Rays right-hander.

Notable Performances

• Bubba Chandler: 6.0 innings, three hits, one run, one walk, three strikeouts, 90 pitches/62 strikes
• Oneil Cruz: 1 for 4, one home run, two RBI, one run, one walk
• Brandon Lowe: 3 for 5, two doubles, two RBI
• Spencer Horwitz: 3 for 3, one double, one RBI, one walk
• Marcell Ozuna: 3 for 4, one run
• Konnor Griffin: 1 for 3, two runs, one walk, one steal

Noteworthy

• The Pirates wore their new City Connect uniforms for the first time. A.J. Burnett threw out the first pitch help celebrate the launch.
• Paul Skenes received his 2025 National League Cy Young award during a pregame ceremony. Former Pirates pitcher Doug Drabek, who won the Cy Young in 1990, presented him with the award.
• The Pirates recalled RHP Cam Sanders from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned RHP José Urquidy.

Up Next

Paul Skenes will start for the Pirates on his bobblehead day in the second game of the series on Saturday. RHP The Rays will have Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 1.13 ERA) on the mound. First pitch: 4:05 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.

The post Chandler Shines Bright in Pirates Win Over Rays; Cruz’s Impressive Breaks Tie appeared first on Pittsburgh Baseball Now.

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