The Pirates needed a jolt, and they got one in a hurry.
Pittsburgh ended its three-game slide Sunday at PNC Park, outlasting the Cubs 8-7 to salvage the series and keep itself squarely in the NL Wild Card mix as the Trade Deadline creeps closer. With Aug. 3 approaching, the Pirates look like buyers, and the performance on the field gave them exactly the kind of response they were looking for.
Ben Cherington made that point before the game, saying the club already has enough information to know where it stands.
“We're at a point in the season now where it's a pretty good foundation. We know a lot about the team. It's hard to imagine that much would happen in the next week to eight days that would really shift it in one way or another,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said pregame on Sunday.
“I think we're pretty well into it by now. So, I think it's pretty clear what we're going to try to do, and I don't expect that an outcome day to day between now and then is going to change it much.”
The Pirates answered the Cubs’ early punch almost immediately. Chicago opened the scoring in the second inning when Dansby Swanson singled in Michael Conforto, but Pittsburgh came right back in the bottom half. Esmerlyn Valdez launched a solo shot, his 14th homer in 37 games, and Shawn Ross followed with a 438-foot blast for his first career home run, flipping the game into a 3-1 Pirates lead.
Braxton Ashcraft had some traffic early, needing 44 pitches through two innings while allowing two hits and walking two batters. Still, he kept settling in, and Pittsburgh kept adding.
On his 33rd birthday, Ryan O’Hearn delivered the biggest swing of the afternoon. With the bases loaded, he crushed a grand slam to right-center field and stretched the lead to six runs.
The Cubs made things uncomfortable again with three runs in the fourth, but Ashcraft regrouped and finished six innings, handing a four-run lead to the bullpen after Valdez added an RBI single in the fifth. Carmen Mlodzinski worked two innings and allowed one run, while Mason Montgomery gave up a two-run homer in the ninth but finished the job.
Ashcraft’s outing was also notable for another reason: he surpassed his 2025 innings total on Sunday, reaching 122 1/3 for the season.
With eight days left before the Deadline, the Pirates’ needs are clear. They have shown enough to look like a team that can hang in the race, even with injuries to key players, but the front office still has work to do. Pittsburgh wants bullpen help and more offense against left-handed starters, and Cherington said he isn’t concerned about being boxed in when it comes time to make moves.
For one day, the lineup and pitching staff handled their part. Now the pressure shifts to the front office to match it.
“We have the resources to win games and be playing baseball in October,” Cherington said. “We have to go do our jobs, and I don't think anything's changed.
We believe this team is capable of doing that. We gotta continue to do the work to actually make that a reality.”
In Other News...
Pirates Have A Surprising Path To A Blockbuster Without Gutting The Farm
With the Pirates expected to shop for help at the 2026 trade deadline, the obstacle is obvious: a farm system that does not leave a lot of obvious surplus to deal from. That is why the conversation around any potential blockbuster has to start with young pitching, especially a starter who still carries years of team control and the kind of upside clubs pay for when they are trying to build a rotation without tearing down the rest of the roster.
Hunter Barco fits that profile in a way that makes him stand out even with the injury history and uneven performance that have followed him. He has already dealt with Tommy John surgery, an elbow issue and a shin injury that cost him time, but that same mix of age, projection and control is exactly what can make a pitcher valuable on the trade market. For Pittsburgh, the question is whether that kind of asset is enough to open the door to a meaningful deadline haul without stripping the system bare. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Move On From Another Outfield Depth Piece
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Shawn Ross was the corresponding casualty, designated for assignment as the club balanced its active roster. For now, the move leaves Ross in limbo while the Pirates sort through the next step, a familiar sort of transaction for a team that has spent plenty of time fine-tuning the edges of its depth chart. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Deadline Prediction Would Rip A Productive Bat From This Lineup
With the Pirates hanging around the postseason race, the front office may be looking for a bat that can help right away before the trade deadline. One name that has surfaced in that conversation is Houston third baseman Isaac Paredes, a productive hitter whose season line includes a .782 OPS and enough pop and on-base skill to fit a lineup that could use more impact.
Paredes has also been one of the more intriguing names because of how much team control comes with him, which only adds to the appeal for a club trying to balance present needs with future value. The fit is easy to understand from Pittsburghs side, especially after the two teams already explored a deal over the offseason, but whether the Pirates actually get serious about turning that interest into a move is still the question hanging over the deadline. [Read more 🡒]