Rangers Fall in Middle Game to Pirates

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

April 22, 2026

Pirates 8, Rangers 4

ARLINGTON, Texas (Apr 22) — The Texas Rangers dropped the middle game in their series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8–4, Wednesday night. Oneil Cruz hit a big three-run home run in the ninth to help the Pirates even the series at one game apiece. The Rangers, meanwhile, will try to claim the series victory Thursday evening with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. It will be a matchup of righties as Bubba Chandler (1–1, 3.15 ERA) will take the bump for the Pirates, while Jacob deGrom (1–0, 2.29 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Rangers.

Tough Fifth for Rangers

The Pirates broke the seal in the top of the first against righty Jack Leiter. Bryan Reynolds lined a two-out double out to center. That brought up Ozuna, who scored Reynolds with a single to center as many of the crowd of 24,289 were still settling into their seats.

The Rangers took a 2–1 lead in the bottom of the second with right-hander Braxton Ashcraft on the mound. Joc Pederson led off with a free pass. Josh Jung followed with a two-run blast to right, his third of the season.

The Pirates leapfrogged the Rangers in the run column in the top of the fifth. Spencer Horwitz led off with a sharp single to left. After Leiter struck out Konnor Griffin looking, he issued a walk to Henry Davis. Two batters later, Brandon Lowe plated Horwitz with a single to left to tie it, 2–2.

On deck was Reynolds, who proceeded to drive in Davis and Lowe with a long single to right.

Rangers Tie it Up

The Rangers fought back in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Gregory Soto. Andrew McCutchen led off against his former team as a pinch-hitter for Jung. He hit a single that was bobbled by Griffin at short. Ezequiel Duran struck out swinging to bring up Brandon Nimmo, who advanced McCutchen to third with a double up the middle. He and Nimmo both crossed the plate two batters later courtesy of a single to center by Jake Burger.

Rangers reliever Cole Winn came in to start the ninth. Nick Gonzales started the frame with a single to left. Horwitz followed with a single to right and was lifted for pinch-runner Billy Cook. Two batters later, Jake Mangum pinch-hit for Davis and reached on a fielder’s choice. Jung threw home from third to try and get Gonzales but the throw arrived late. Lefty Jalen Beeks was brought in to relieve Winn. That brought Cruz to the plate. He belted a three-run homer to right to put the game out of reach.

What Went Right for the Pirates

When it comes to the box score, the main thing that stands out for the Pirates is the three-run shot by Oneil. Aside from that, they did a lot of small things to win as well. The RBI singles by Reynolds and Horwitz went a long way. They also drew two walks off Leiter and took advantage of two errors committed by the Rangers.

What Went Wrong for the Pirates

The Pirates fell into a habit of letting the Rangers creep back into the game on two occasions. There was the two-run homer by Jung that gave them the lead in the second and there was the RBI single by Burger in the eighth. You can never afford to let your opponent back in the game, especially when you’re on the road.

Leiter’s Evening

Rangers starter Jack Leiter made his fifth start of the season and did not factor into the decision after permitting four runs, three earned, over five innings. All four of his runs came with two outs, as the Pirates went 4-for-10 with two away in this one. Leiter’ opponents are batting .361 (13-for-36) in two-out situations this season, compared to .203 in all other scenarios. Following Ozuna’s RBI knock in the first, Leiter held Pirates batters 0-for-their-next-10 ahead of Horwitz’s single leading off the fifth.

Leiter allowed the Lowe game-tying RBI single in the fifth and two more runs came across on Reynolds’ RBI knock, including one run that scored as a result of an errant throw from right. He was visited by Head Athletic Trainer Matt Lucero and manager Skip Schumaker after the Reynolds plate appearance, but remained in the game. Leiter gave way to Tyler Alexander in the sixth. He was removed from the decision after Burger’s game-tying two-run single in the eighth. After giving up the go-ahead run in the ninth, Winn took the loss, bringing his record to 1–1 with an ERA of 4.91.

No-Decision for Ashcraft

Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft made his fifth start of the year, exiting with a 4–1 lead, but ended up with a no-decision. The right-hander tossed a career-high seven innings while throwing 94 pitches, his most at any professional level. Ashcraft’s only blemish came early as he allowed the leadoff walk to Pederson to open the second. This came moments before the two-run homer by Jung. It was his first home run allowed this season after a 2025 campaign where his 0.39 HR/9 was 10th in the majors.

For his effort in the eighth, Soto notched his first win of the year.

Schumaker’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Schumaker gave his thoughts on the loss. “It was kind of a weird game,” he remarked. “I thought with the way Jack (Leiter) was throwing the ball that he was going to go seven innings, maybe seven-plus. On paper, it seemed like it was going to be a one-run game. He was cruising with a low pitch count. His fastball was good, but they were aggressive to it, and that cost Jack in a couple of spots. You never like to see that, but it happens in this game. We’ll just have to try again tomorrow.”