Adam Frazier scores on wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th to lift the Pirates past the Brewers 6-5

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Adam Frazier sprinted home from third on a wild pitch by Abner Uribe in the 10th inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Friday night.

The Pirates tied it on an RBI single by Alexander Canario off Uribe (2-1) earlier in the inning. Canario had a chance to win it on a single by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, but was called out at the plate when home plate umpire Mark Wegner ruled Canario had slid outside the baseline to avoid catcher William Contreras' tag.

Frazier scored three pitches later when Uribe's 0-2 pitch to Joey Bart skipped past Contreras to the backstop.

Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes put together another excellent performance, allowing one run in six innings with two walks and eight strikeouts. He gave up an RBI single by Hoskins in the sixth but retired Sal Frelick on a grounder to end the inning. The 22-year-old received a standing ovation while making his way to the dugout with the Pirates up 2-1.

Oneil Cruz homered twice for the Pirates, including a solo shot off Uribe in the ninth to tie the game. Frazier had three hits for Pittsburgh. Andrew McCutchen had two hits and Bryan Reynolds drove in two runs. Ryan Borucki (1-1) earned the victory despite giving up an RBI single by Isaac Collins in the top of the 10th.

Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio and Rhys Hoskins had two hits each for the Brewers. Contreras' fifth homer of the season in the ninth briefly gave Milwaukee the lead.

Cruz's first multihomer game of his career brought a crowd to its feet and gave the Pirates a needed jolt during a miserable stretch.

4 — the number of Pittsburgh pitchers since 1893 to have consecutive starts of 6.0-plus innings, eight-plus strikeouts, one or zero runs, four hits or fewer and two walks or fewer.

Quinn Priester (1-2, 4.6 ERA), a first-round pick by the Pirates in 2019, starts against his former team for the first time on Saturday. Mitch Keller (1-6, 3.88) gets the nod for Pittsburgh.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras (24) celebrates with Christian Yelich as he returns to the dugout after hitting a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras (24) celebrates as he stands on home plate after hitting a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar (not shown) during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Pittsburgh, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Oneil Cruz rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run off Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta during the third inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Oneil Cruz, right, celebrates with third base coach Mike Rabelo (58) as he rounds third after hitting a solo home run off Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta during the third inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked.

New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity.

However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead.

“This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.

One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that is the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 91% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.

The last flu season saw the highest overall flu hospitalization rate since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. And child flu deaths reached 289, the worst recorded for any U.S. flu season this century — including that H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010.

So far this season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. It also estimates there have been 7,400 deaths, including the deaths of at least 17 children.

Last week, 44 states reported high flu activity, down slightly from the week before. However, flu deaths and hospitalizations rose.

Determining exactly how flu season is going can be particularly tricky around the holidays. Schools are closed, and many people are traveling. Some people may be less likely to see a doctor, deciding to just suffer at home. Others may be more likely to go.

Also, some seasons see a surge in cases, then a decline, and then a second surge.

For years, federal health officials joined doctors' groups in recommending that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine. The shots may not prevent all symptoms but can prevent many infections from becoming severe, experts say.

But federal health officials on Monday announced they will no longer recommend flu vaccinations for U.S. children, saying it is a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors.

“I can’t begin to express how concerned we are about the future health of the children in this country, who already have been unnecessarily dying from the flu — a vaccine preventable disease,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of an advocacy organization called Families Fighting Flu.

“Now, with added confusion for parents and health care providers about childhood vaccines, I fear that flu seasons to come could be even more deadly for our youngest and most vulnerable," she said in a statement.

Flu is just one of a group of viruses that tend to strike more often in the winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also have been rising in recent weeks — though were not diagnosed nearly as often as flu infections, according to other federal data.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - Pharmacy manager Aylen Amestoy administers a patient with a seasonal flu vaccine at a CVS Pharmacy in Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)