Baltimore Orioles vs Pittsburgh Pirates — Apr 5, 2026 | AI-prognos & statistik

Braxton Ashcraft enters with sharp command and a fresh arm, exploiting Baltimore’s right-heavy order with his cutter/curve combo. He limits hard contact early, surrendering only a leadoff run in the first before settling into six efficient innings (5 H, 1 ER). Chris Bassitt’s kitchen-sink approach isn’t fooling the energized Pittsburgh lineup. The second inning sees Brandon Lowe work a walk and Ryan O’Hearn shoot an RBI single the other way. In the fourth, Oneil Cruz ambushes a first-pitch sinker for a smoked double, setting up a two-run frame capped by Konnor Griffin’s opposite-field RBI knock—his second big-league hit and the spark that swings momentum. Baltimore claws back with a Gunnar Henderson sacrifice fly in the fourth and a solo shot from Dylan Beavers off reliever Mason Montgomery in the eighth, but the damage is contained. Gregory Soto bridges the seventh with 99-mph sinkers, and Ryan Helsley’s recent usage forces the Orioles to lean on middle relief; Pittsburgh tags Grant Wolfram for insurance in the seventh and Anthony Núñez for another in the eighth. Dennis Santana closes the door with a clean ninth, blowing a 97-mph slider past Pete Alonso to strand the tying run on deck. Pittsburgh’s deeper bullpen, hotter top-of-the-order bats (O’Hearn, Lowe, Cruz) and the jolt from Griffin outweigh Baltimore’s sporadic power, delivering the Pirates a 5-3 victory and a sweep of the weekend set.