Pham and Horwitz lead Pirates past Rangers to prevent sweep

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tommy Pham went 3 for 3 and drove in three runs, Spencer Horwitz and Bryan Reynolds also had three hits, and the Pittsburgh Pirates used a five-run fifth inning to beat the Texas Rangers 8-3 on Sunday and avoid a three-game sweep.

Pham tied it 2-all with a sacrifice fly in the fourth and capped the fifth-inning rally with an RBI double for a 7-2 advantage. He drove in Pittsburgh's final run with a double in the seventh.

Horwitz went 3 for 4 with two doubles. He scored three runs and drove in two. Reynolds had a double and scored as the Pirates finished with 15 hits.

Texas starter Jack Leiter was lifted in favor of Caleb Boushley after walking Oneil Cruz to begin the fifth with the score tied at 2.

Cruz advanced to third on a groundout and Reynolds' single. Nick Gonzales singled to give Pittsburgh the lead, and Horwitz hit a shot to right field that Adolis García misplayed into a two-run double that made it 5-2. Ke’Bryan Hayes added an RBI single before scoring on Pham's double.

Bailey Falter walked two to begin the second and both scored on back-to-back RBI singles by Josh Smith and Josh Jung to put the Rangers up 2-0.

Hayes doubled in the Pirates' first run after one-out singles by Joey Bart and Horwitz in the fourth.

Falter (6-3) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and five walks. Three relievers finished for Pittsburgh.

Leiter (4-5) permitted three runs and five hits in four-plus innings. Boushley gave up five runs in four innings.

Hayes saved two runs when he dove to his left at third base with runners on second and third to take away a hit from García for the final out in the third with the Pirates trailing 2-0.

Cruz, in a 4-for-37 slump, used his speed to spark the Pirates. He was off and running for his 27th stolen base on a grounder by Andrew McCutchen. Cruz didn't get the steal but he prevented a double play and later scored the go-ahead run.

The Pirates hadn't announced a starter for Monday's series opener in Milwaukee against Brewers rookie RHP Chad Patrick (3-7, 3.50 ERA).

Texas will start LHP Patrick Corbin (4-6, 3.91 ERA) on Monday in Baltimore opposite LHP Trevor Rogers (0-0, 3.12).

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

Texas Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux has a word with pitcher Caleb Boushley, right, and catcher Jonah Heim during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Joey Bart (14) scores the second of two runs on a double by Spencer Horwitz, off Texas Rangers pitcher Caleb Boushley, during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Spencer Horwitz doubles off Texas Rangers pitcher Caleb Boushley, driving in two runs, during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Tommy Pham celebrates as he stands on second base after driving in a run with a double off Texas Rangers pitcher Caleb Boushley during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Tommy Pham doubles off Texas Rangers pitcher Caleb Boushley, driving in a run, during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — The big surprise of the World Cup slalom season scored his second win Sunday adding to his fast-rising reputation before the Winter Olympics.

Paco Rassat raced to the fastest time in the second run to rise from fourth place, and push two Norwegians down the podium steps after they had been fastest in the morning run.

United States-born Atle Lie McGrath was edged out by 0.18 seconds and first-run leader Henrik Kristoffersen dropped to third, trailing 0.20 behind Rassat.

The 27-year-old Frenchman had a career-best result of ninth in World Cup races before this Olympic season started.

Rassat now has two wins, a third place and two sixth places this season and shapes as a medal contender for the Milano Cortina Olympics. The men’s slalom is on Feb. 16 at Bormio.

“To win on this crazy hill at Adelboden, It’s something really unbelievable," Rassat told Swiss broadcaster RTS, describing his season as “a magnificent surprise.”

Rassat also took the lead in the seasonlong World Cup slalom standings, ahead of his France teammate Clément Noël, the defending Olympic champion. Noël tied for eighth Sunday.

McGrath was runner-up in the Adelboden slalom for the third time in four years.

“It’s kind of crazy,” said McGrath, whose father Felix skied for the U.S. at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. “I’m of course super happy, it’s such a challenging slope and mentally it’s one of the toughest places to perform because of this amazing crowd.”

Another packed finish-area crowd at Adelboden observed a minute’s silence before racing for the victims of the fatal fire in a bar in nearby Crans-Montana on New Year’s Day. Crans-Montana hosts men’s and women’s World Cup races in three weeks’ time.

The World Cup overall standings leader, four-time title holder Marco Odermatt, does not ski slalom and his huge lead was cut a little by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who placed fourth. Pinheiro Braathen was second to Odermatt in the classic giant slalom Saturday.

The men’s World Cup circuit stays in central Switzerland for the storied Lauberhorn meeting at Wengen, for a super-G on Friday, the classic downhill Saturday and a slalom Sunday.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

France's Paco Rassat speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

France's Paco Rassat reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Finland's Eduard Hallberg speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen ahead of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)