(File Photo: Source for Photo: Chicago Cubs’ Dansby Swanson, left, scores past Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Joey Bart during the seventh inning of a baseball game, in Chicago, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

CHICAGO (AP) — Michael Busch ended an 0-for-30 slide with a tying, two-run single in the eighth inning and Carson Kelly had a winning single in the ninth as the Chicago Cubs overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 on Sunday.

Brandon Lowe hit a grand slam and a solo homer off Jameson Taillon, and Oneil Cruz homered leading off the game for Pittsburgh, which led 5-0 before third-inning solo homers by Dansby Swanson and Moisés Ballesteros against Bubba Chandler.

Lowe’s fifth-inning homer boosted Pittsburgh’s lead to 6-2 but Chicago closed on Alex Bregman’s sacrifice fly in the bottom half. Swanson scored from third in the seventh on an infield fly by Bregman as Lowe, the second baseman, fell while catching the ball in short right field.

Busch, benched from the starting lineup, pinch hit for Matt Shaw with two outs in the eighth after a pair of walks by Justin Lawrence and looped an opposite-field single into short left that tied the score 6-6.

Pinch-hitter Michael Conforto doubled off Jose Urquidy (0-1) leading off the ninth and, with the bases loaded and one out, Kelly hit a 381-foot drive that landed on the right-center warning track.

Daniel Palencia (1-0) pitched around a walk in the ninth.

Chicago had been 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position before Busch’s single after going 1 of 23 in the previous two losses to Pittsburgh.

Taillon struck out 10, allowing six runs, six hits and two walks in six innings.

Lowe had his second multi-homer game this season.

Chicago placed reliever Hunter Henry on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday, with right triceps inflammation, and he became the eighth Cubs pitcher on the IL. Chicago selected the contract of left-hander Charlie Barnes from Triple-A Iowa. He has not appeared in a major league game since 2021.

Up next

Pirates: RHP Paul Skenes (2-1, 5.25) will be on the mound Monday at Pittsburgh, opposed by Washington RHP Cade Cavalli (0-0, 2.51).

Cubs: RHP Javier Assad (1-0, 0.00 ERA) starts Monday at Philadelphia, which starts Cristopher Sánchez (1-1, 1.65).

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Visit Pittsburgh)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that several state-owned roadways will close for the 2026 NFL Draft in the City of Pittsburgh beginning today, and will remain closed for the duration of the Draft, unless otherwise noted. According to a recent release from PennDOT District 11, here is more information about these closures and where they are expected:

• The event is expected to be extremely well attended. PennDOT encourages fans to plan in advance and to take mass transit, which may be the most efficient way to travel between Draft events. A comprehensive transportation guide including public transportation, parking, road closures, and other travel information for the NFL Draft can be found at NFLDraftPittsburgh.com by clicking here. PennDOT also encourages drivers not attending Draft Week events to delay unnecessary travel to Pittsburgh or consider alternate routes around the city. Drivers should allow extra travel time, be patient, and remain calm and courteous.

The following state roadways and ramps will close to traffic, and drivers will be detoured according to the following schedule:

Monday, April 13 at approximately 8:00 PM:

• Southbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp to the North Shore (Exit 1B).

Monday, April 20 at approximately 8:00 PM:

• Northbound I-279 (Upper deck of the Fort Duquesne Bridge) left-hand ramp to the North Shore (Reedsdale Street – Exit 1B).

Monday, April 20 at approximately 10:00 PM:

• The I-279 and I-579 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes will close to traffic to accommodate emergency vehicle and bus traffic. All other vehicles will be prohibited. The HOV lanes will reopen to traffic Monday morning, April 27.

Wednesday, April 22 at approximately 8:00 PM:

• Southbound Route 65 ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge.
• Northbound I-279 (Fort Duquesne Bridge) ramp to northbound Route 65.
• 10^th Street Bypass ramp to the I-279 Portal Bridge.
• Eastbound I-376 ramp to Liberty Avenue (Exit 70A).
• Liberty Avenue to I-376 (Fort Pitt Bridge).
• Allegheny Avenue/Ridge Avenue/Reedsdale Street ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge.

The following detours will be in place:

Southbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp the North Shore (Exit 1B)

• No detour route will be provided as all local roadways off the exit are closed to traffic. However, the ramp will reopen to traffic for specific Pirate games listed below.

Northbound I-279 (Upper deck of the Fort Duquesne Bridge) left-hand ramp to the North Shore (Reedsdale Street – Exit 1B)

• No detour route will be provided as all local roadways off the exit are closed to traffic.

Southbound Route 65 ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge

• From southbound Route 65, continue straight onto the ramp to North 28/North 279/Truck North 19
• Merge onto northbound I-279 (Parkway North)
• Take the Hazlett Street (Exit 3) off-ramp
• Turn left onto East Street
• Turn right onto the ramp to southbound I-279 at Venture Street
• Follow I-279 southbound back to the Fort Duquesne Bridge
• End detour

Northbound I-279 (Fort Duquesne Bridge) to northbound Route 65

• From the upper deck of the Fort Duquesne Bridge, continue to North 28/279
• From northbound I-279 (Parkway North), take the ramp to North 28 toward Chestnut Street/East Ohio Street/Etna (Exit 1D)
• From northbound Route 28, take the left-hand off-ramp to North 279 toward East Ohio Street
• At the traffic light, turn left onto East Ohio Street
• Turn left onto the ramp to southbound I-279
• From southbound I-279 take the ramp to North 65 toward Ohio River Boulevard (Exit 1C)
• End detour

10^th Street Bypass to the I-279 Portal Bridge

• From westbound 10^th Street Bypass, turn left onto Fort Duquesne Boulevard
• Turn left onto 9^th Street
• Turn right onto Liberty Avenue
• Turn left onto Stanwix Street
• Take the ramp to West 376 toward the Fort Pitt Bridge/Airport
• End detour

Eastbound I-376 ramp to Liberty Avenue (Exit 70A)

• From eastbound I-376, take the ramp to the Boulevard of the Allies/Liberty Bridge/PPG Arena (Exit 70A)
• Take the ramp to the Boulevard of the Allies
• Turn left onto Stanwix Street
• Follow Stanwix Street to Liberty Avenue
• End detour

Liberty Avenue to westbound I-376 (Fort Pitt Bridge)

• From Liberty Avenue, turn left onto Stanwix Street
• Take the ramp to West 376 toward the Fort Pitt Bridge/Airport
• End detour

Allegheny Avenue/Ridge Avenue/Reedsdale Street ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge

• No detour route will be provided as Allegheny Avenue and Reedsdale Street will be closed. Ridge Avenue will remain open. Drivers can access southbound Route 65 at the West End Bridge interchange.

Additional items of note:

• To accommodate Pittsburgh Pirates traffic, the southbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp to the North Shore (Exit 1B) will reopen and close each day from Friday through Sunday, April 17-19. The ramp will reopen to traffic accessing Red Garage 5 and Champions Garage approximately five hours before the first pitch and will then reclose one-half hour after the first pitch of each game.
• Line striping work is currently scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 18 on the northbound (upper deck) Fort Duquesne Bridge. The bridge will be reduced to two lanes of traffic during the work and the new two-lane traffic configuration will be implemented on Wednesday, April 22.
• The I-376 Fort Pitt Bridge sidewalk will close to pedestrian traffic on Wednesday, April 22.
• The northbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp to northbound Route 28 (Ramp 1D) will be modified to two lanes of traffic.
• Lane restrictions will occur throughout the draft in both directions of the Portal Bridge which spans a portion of Point State Park.
• For those visiting Pittsburgh, the section of I-279 (Parkway North) just north of the Fort Duquesne Bridge is occasionally referred to as the North Shore Expressway.

 

• Significant congestion is expected to occur during this event. PennDOT encourages drivers not attending draft week events to delay unnecessary travel to Pittsburgh or consider alternate routes around the city.

CHICAGO (AP) — Yohan Ramírez escaped bases-loaded jams in the 10th and 11th innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates took advantage of a throwing error by Caleb Thielbar to score the go-ahead run in a 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday that clinched the three-game series.

Alex Bregman’s RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning on an 0-2 pitch off Dennis Santana tied the score 3-3 but the NL Central-leading Pirates (9-5) rebounded and won for the eighth time in 10 games, improving to 2-0 this season in series against division rivals.

Oneil Cruz was 4 for 5 with a double, becoming the first Pittsburgh player with at least four hits and three stolen bases in a game since Matt Lawton on July 26, 2005, and Nick Yorke had three hits.

Chicago stranded 16 runners and went 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position. Michael Busch went 0 for 3 and is hitless in 30 at-bats.

Pittsburgh went ahead in the 11th when Brandon Lowe hit a two-out grounder to Thielbar (1-2), who bounced his throw to the infield side of first, and the ball bounced off Matt Shaw’s mitt for an error that allowed Mitt Gonzales to score from second. Lowe was credited with an infield single.

Ramírez got out of the 10th when Dansby Swanson grounded out. Then in the 11th, Ramírez threw wildly past first on Nico Hoerner’s leadoff comebacker for an error that advanced Swanson, the automatic runner, to third as Hoerner took second.

Matt Shaw flied out to medium right field, Bregman fouled out and an intentional walk to Ian Happ loaded the bases. Seiya Suzuki got ahead 3-0 in the count, tool a called strike and then fouled out.

Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft struck out a career-best nine in five innings while allowing a run on Hoerner’s fifth-inning RBI groundout, which cut the Cubs’ deficit to 3-1.

Cubs starter Edward Cabrera gave up three runs, eight hits and three walks in five innings.

Up Next

Pittsburgh RHP Bubba Chandler (0-1) and Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (0-1) start Sunday.