(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Esmerlyn Valdez, center, is helped off the field by first base coach Tarrik Brock, left, and a trainer during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

CHICAGO (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates placed Esmerlyn Valdez on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a left hamstring strain, likely signaling the end of the 22-year-old outfielder’s rookie season.

In a corresponding move, the Pirates recalled outfielder Ronny Simón from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Valdez is batting .235 with 17 homers and 47 RBIs in 71 games. He made his major league debut on May 22 at Toronto.

Valdez left Friday’s 12-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs after injuring himself while running to first base on a grounder in the sixth inning. He grabbed the back of his left leg and limped off the field with his arms draped around the shoulders of training staff after shortstop Nico Hoerner threw him out.

Simón is batting .281 with two RBIs in 10 games with the Pirates this season. He had been returned to Indianapolis on Friday after O’Hearn was activated from the injured list.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Brandon Lowe, right, watches his two-RBI single hit during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

CHICAGO (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a tiebreaking two-run single in Pittsburgh’s three-run sixth inning, and the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Sunday to avoid a sweep of their weekend series.

Bryan Reynolds had two hits for Pittsburgh, including an RBI single in the first. Carmen Mlodzinski, Luke Weaver and Mason Montgomery combined for 3 2/3 hitless innings in relief of Bubba Chandler (8-9).

The Pirates (75-75) closed out a 4-2 stay in Chicago. They swept the White Sox before dropping two of three against the Cubs.

Miguel Amaya homered for Chicago, and Michael Busch had two hits. Matthew Boyd (8-5) allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings in his second straight loss.

The Cubs (83-67) dropped into a tie with Philadelphia for the top spot in the NL wild-card standings.

Montgomery worked a perfect ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances. The Pirates had a 3-2 lead on Saturday before a wild Gregory Soto surrendered two runs in the eighth inning of a 4-3 loss.

Chicago jumped in front in the series finale on Amaya’s sixth homer, a two-run drive to left with two out in the fifth. It was his first homer since Aug. 16.

Pittsburgh responded with three runs in the sixth. Reynolds reached on a leadoff walk and scored on Nick Gonzales’ ground-rule double. With one out and the bases loaded, Lowe made it 4-2 when he drove in Rafael Flores Jr. and Gonzales with a pinch-hit liner to center off Aaron Civale.

Chicago closed to 4-3 on Nico Hoerner’s grounder to second in the bottom half. But the Cubs left the bases loaded when Pedro Ramírez flied to right against Mlodzinski, ending the inning.

Up next

Pirates: Following an off day, the Pirates host the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night in the opener of a nine-game homestand.

Cubs: LHP David Peterson (7-8, 5.28 ERA) starts on Monday night against Atlanta. RHP Reynaldo López (4-4, 4.13) takes the mound for the visiting Braves.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Chicago Cubs’ Pedro Ramírez celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

CHICAGO (AP) — Alex Bregman scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning when Gregory Soto hit Nico Hoerner with a pitch with the bases loaded and two outs, and the Chicago Cubs rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Saturday.

Before Hoerner’s at-bat, Soto walked pinch-hitter Matt Shaw to force in Pedro Ramirez from third to tie it at 3 as the Cubs won their second straight. Soto relieved after seven strong innings from Paul Skenes, who left with a 3-2 lead.

Skenes settled in after giving up solo shots to Michael Busch and Ramirez off high fastballs as the Pirates dropped a second straight after winning nine of 11. Ramirez led off the eighth with a double off Soto (6-5), who allowed two runs on one hit, two walks and hit two batters.

Ryan Rolison (9-1) got five outs for the win. Ryan Zeferjahn got the final out of the ninth for his sixth save.

Ryan O’Hearn hit his career-best 18th homer of the season, a three-run drive in the sixth, to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead. O’Hearn connected for the first time since being reinstated on Friday following six weeks on the injured list (left quad strain) and upped his career-high RBI total this season to 72.

Skenes allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings while striking out four and walking one.

Cubs starter Clay Holmes cruised through five scoreless innings. The right-hander allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six.

Busch hit an opposite-field homer in the first for a 1-0 Chicago lead. Ramirez pulled a drive high into the right-center bleachers in the third to make it 2-0.

O’Hearn sent a high cutter from Holmes to the base of Wrigley Field’s message board in right.

Up next

Pirates RHP Bubba Chandler (7-9, 4.25 ERA) faced Cubs LHP Matthew Boyd (8-4, 4.03) on Sunday.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Chicago Cubs’ Alex Bregman, right, celebrates his two-run home run with Seiya Suzuki, left, during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

CHICAGO (AP) — Alex Bregman hit his 25th homer and doubled among three hits, Shota Imanaga tossed six effective innings and the Chicago Cubs pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2 on Friday to end a four-game slide.

Seiya Suzuki had three hits, including a wind-blown triple, scored three runs and drove in one as the Cubs finished with 16 hits against three Pittsburgh pitchers and ended the Pirates’ four-game winning streak. Chicago remains well behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee but is in position for a wild card.

Michael Busch doubled and had three RBIs, and Carson Kelly doubled in a pair of runs. All of Chicago’s starters had at least one hit, and five finished with two or more.

Bregman went deep in the fourth inning, a two-run shot off Khristian Curtis that made it 9-1.

Imanaga (10-10) allowed two runs on five hits in a second straight solid start and win. The left-hander struck out four and walked two.

Bryan Reynolds hit a solo shot for Pittsburgh, which came in having won 9 of 11 to climb back above .500. Rookie Konnor Griffin tripled among two hits.

Pirates rookie right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez left in the sixth inning with left hamstring discomfort after running to first on a groundout.

The Cubs made it 3-1 in the second off Pirates opener Wilber Dotel (1-5). After Chicago loaded the bases, Michael Conforto’s sac fly tied it at 1 and Kelly’s double plated two more.

Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (10-11, 3.83 ERA) faces Cubs RHP Clay Holmes (6-7, 2.83) on Saturday.

(Caption and Credit for Photo: Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft walks to the dugout with catcher Shawn Ross before a game against the Cubs on July 26 at PNC Park. (Christopher Horner | TribLive)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pittsburgh Pirates put All-Star starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft on the 15-day injured list yesterday because he has right arm discomfort. 

The move is retroactive to Monday. 

The Pirates recalled right-handed pitcher Antwone Kelly from Triple-A Indianapolis in a corresponding move. 

According to Pirates manager Don Kelly, Ashcraft’s arm discomfort popped up after his most recent start on Saturday, when a game took place between the Pirates and the Los Angeles Angels at PNC Park.

Kelly also stated on a recent edition of the SportsNet Pittsburgh pregame show that there does not appear to be any structural damage to Ashcraft’s arm, but more tests will be conducted.

Ashcraft’s 2026 statistics include an ERA of 3.70, a record of 14-6 and 173 strikeouts.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Oneil Cruz rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

CHICAGO (AP) — Jared Jones pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, Oneil Cruz added a solo home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on Thursday night to complete a three-game series sweep.

The White Sox had just two hits in losing for the eighth time in 11 games. Chicago’s AL Central lead over idle Cleveland slipped to 1 1/2 games.

Jones (4-6), making his 40th career start, allowed leadoff walks in the third and fourth innings and carried a no-hit bid into the seventh, when Colson Montgomery shut down the bid with a two-out double.

Jones finished the inning, matching his longest career outing, and finished with eight strikeouts. Luke Weaver worked a clean eighth and Mason Montgomery came on to record his 12th save for the Pirates, who’ve won four straight and nine of 11.

Cruz homered to deep center in the fourth off Erick Fedde (8-9) and tagged him for a second earned run when he singled to knock in Jared Triolo in the eighth.

Chicago’s Miguel Vargas got to third after stealing second and advancing on a throwing error in the fourth, but stayed there after Jones induced three straight flyouts.

Fedde, who took over one batter into the third for opener Hagen Smith, gave up four hits and a walk while striking out one in 5 1/3 innings.

The Pirates were seeking the club’s seventh no-hitter. Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon last accomplished the feat July 12, 1997, against Houston. John Candelaria had Pittsburgh’s last solo no-hitter on Aug. 9, 1976, against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Up next

The Pirates’ projected starter for their Friday afternoon game against the Chicago Cubs is RHP Wilber Dotel (1-4, 4.41 ERA). Chicago’s LHP Shota Imanaga (9-10, 3.91 ERA) will start the series opener.

White Sox LHP Anthony Kay (9-8, 4.47 ERA) faces Cardinals LHP Matthew Liberatore (5-13, 5.57) in the opener at St. Louis Friday night.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Ryan O’Hearn watches his two-run home run against Houston Astros starting pitcher Kai-Wei Teng during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, June 4, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Ryan O’Hearn is progressing in his rehab to recover from a left quad strain.

O’Hearn suffered this injury when he was running to first base during the ninth inning of the Pirates’ game against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati on July 31st.

He went to a rehab assignment at Triple-A Indianapolis this week and he is hoping to rejoin the team in Chicago tomorrow to try to be activated before the team’s series this weekend on the road against the Chicago Cubs.

O’Hearn’s 2026 statistics include 17 home runs, 69 RBIs and a batting average of .270.