The Pirates delivered their sellout crowd at PNC Park a tantalizing start when rookie Mike Burrows took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, striking out six and allowing just two runs over five frames. Oneil Cruz’s 112.8 mph triple in the second and a two-run double by Ke’Bryan Hayes in the fourth put Pittsburgh up 4–2, but it would be short lived.
But the cushion vanished in a brutal sixth inning. Lefty Caleb Ferguson surrendered a leadoff double to Miguel Vargas and then watched Chicago piece together back-to-back-to-back singles to tie the game. Isaac Mattson’s hit-batters and command issues opened the floodgates for a bases-clearing double by Mike Tauchman, and Carmen Mlodzinski couldn’t stem the tide in the seventh as the White Sox pounded out 13 hits en route to a 10–4 victory. It marked Pittsburgh’s first back-to-back double-digit–run loss of the season, extending their skid to 10 defeats in 11 games and dropping their home record to 26–23.
Looking to avoid the sweep on Sunday (first pitch 1:35 p.m. ET), the Pirates will send left-hander Andrew Heaney (4–8, 4.59 ERA) to the mound against Chicago’s right-hander Aaron Civale (1–6, 5.30 ERA)
Top Performances on Saturday
Andrew McCutchen: 2-for-5, 1 R
Ke’Bryan Hayes: 1-for-3, 2 RBI
Bryan Reynolds: 3-for-5, 2 R
Oneil Cruz: 1-for-5, 3B
Nick Gonzales: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Mike Burrows: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 6 K