Ryan O'Hearn hits a grand slam on his 33rd birthday to lead Pirates to 8-7 victory over Cubs

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ryan O’Hearn hit a grand slam on his 33rd birthday, and the Pittsburgh Pirates held off the Chicago Cubs 8-7 on Sunday to avoid being swept in the three-game series.

The Cubs nearly erased a six-run deficit. Seiya Suzuki hit a two-run home run with one out in the ninth inning to make it a one-run game, but Mason Montgomery held on for his second save.

O’Hearn’s blast to center field in the third inning extended the Pirates’ lead to 7-1. That came an inning after a pair of rookies homered, with Esmerlyn Valdez hitting a leadoff shot and Shawn Ross hitting a two-run blast for his first career home run.

It was the fourth career grand slam for O’Hearn and second this season. His 17 home runs match the nine-year veteran’s career high.

Valdez has 14 home runs in just 37 games. Ross, a catcher, was making his first career start after being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday.

All three home runs came off Jameson Taillon (2-6), who has given up 25 longballs in just 76 innings this season. Taillon lasted four innings, was charged with seven runs on six hits and is winless in his last nine starts.

Braxton Ashcraft (10-4) pitched six innings and allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five.

Brandon Lowe had three of the Pirates’ 11 hits while Valdez and Nick Gonzales had two each. The Cubs got two hits apiece from Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, rookie Pedro Ramirez and Dansby Swanson.

Cubs: Open a four-game series in St. Louis on Monday night with LHP David Peterson (5-7, 5.97 ERA) starting.

Pirates: RHP Mitch Keller (6-7, 4.90) pitches against Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (8-8, 5.12) on Monday night in the opener of a three-game home series.

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

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki (27) is greeted by Dansby Swanson (7) after hitting a two-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Mason Montgomery as Pirates catcher Shawn Ross, left, looks on during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Ryan O'Hearn rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam off Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon during the third inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Ryan O'Hearn rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam off Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon during the third inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Ryan O'Hearn (29) celebrates with Esmerlyn Valdez (55) and Bryan Reynolds, right, after hitting a grand slam off Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon during the third inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski set a franchise record by striking out the first seven Colorado Rockies on Sunday.

Misiorowski also broke his own record for the most 100-mph pitches in a single game since pitch tracking began in 2008. The two-time All-Star reached 100 mph on 66 of his 83 pitches and hit a top velocity of 104.7.

He had thrown 58 pitches of at least 100 mph during a 15-strikeout performance against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 12.

Misiorowski struck out 12 of Colorado's first 13 batters. The two-time All-Star retired the first 14 batters before Cole Carrigg homered with two outs in the fifth.

The Brewers record for consecutive strikeouts to start a game had been set last year by Quinn Priester, who had six in a row to begin a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 18.

The major league record for consecutive strikeouts to start a game is owned by Pablo López, who fanned the first nine Atlanta batters he faced in the Miami Marlins’ 7-4 triumph over the Braves on July 11, 2021.

Misiorowski was three shy of the Brewers and MLB record for consecutive strikeouts at any point within a single game. Corbin Burnes struck out 10 straight batters in the Brewers’ 10-0 shutout of the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 11, 2021. The New York Mets’ Tom Seaver struck out 10 straight San Diego Padres on April 22, 1970, and Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola had 10 consecutive strikeouts against the Mets on June 25, 2021.

Misiorowski capped the first inning by getting Hunter Goodman to swing and miss at a 104.3-mph fastball after also striking out Jake McCarthy and Mickey Moniak. TJ Rumfield, Kyle Karros and Carrigg struck out in the second. Willi Castro also struck out to lead off the third before Troy Johnston ended the streak by flying out to center fielder Luis Lara.

Misiorowski then struck out the next five batters he faced. Edouard Julien went down swinging to end the third before McCarthy, Moniak and Goodman all struck out again in the fourth. Rumfield's second strikeout led off the fifth, then Karros lined to fifth before Carrigg homered on a 2-2 pitch.

Carrigg’s 361-foot, opposite-field shot to left came on a 101.9-mph fastball. According to MLB.com, it was 12th-fastest pitch to result in a homer since the start of pitch tracking. No Rockies player had ever homered on a pitch that fast during the pitch tracking era.

Misiorowski followed up Carrigg's homer by hitting Castro with a pitch before retiring Johnston on a grounder to end a 30-pitch inning.

The Brewers removed Misiorowski at that point as the NL Central leaders continue to be careful with his workload as August approaches.

Misiorowski already has pitched 120 innings this season. He worked 141 1/3 innings last year, including his regular-season totals in the majors and minors plus his 12 postseason innings during Milwaukee’s run to the NL Championship Series. He was coming off a four-inning appearance in an 8-3 victory over the New York Mets on Monday.

His ERA for the season actually rose slightly to 1.58 as he increased his strikeout total to 185 on Sunday. Misiorowski leads the majors in both categories.

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

Milwaukee Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski winds up to deliver during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)