Alex Bregman hits his 25th homer and the Cubs pound the Pirates 12-2 to end their 4-game skid

CHICAGO (AP) — Alex Bregman hit his 25th homer and doubled among three hits, Shota Imanaga tossed six effective innings and the Chicago Cubs pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2 on Friday to end a four-game slide.

Seiya Suzuki had three hits, including a wind-blown triple, scored three runs and drove in one as the Cubs finished with 16 hits against three Pittsburgh pitchers and ended the Pirates' four-game winning streak. Chicago remains well behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee but is in position for a wild card.

Michael Busch doubled and had three RBIs, and Carson Kelly doubled in a pair of runs. All of Chicago's starters had at least one hit, and five finished with two or more.

Bregman went deep in the fourth inning, a two-run shot off Khristian Curtis that made it 9-1.

Imanaga (10-10) allowed two runs on five hits in a second straight solid start and win. The left-hander struck out four and walked two.

Bryan Reynolds hit a solo shot for Pittsburgh, which came in having won 9 of 11 to climb back above .500. Rookie Konnor Griffin tripled among two hits.

Pirates rookie right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez left in the sixth inning with left hamstring discomfort after running to first on a groundout.

The Cubs made it 3-1 in the second off Pirates opener Wilber Dotel (1-5). After Chicago loaded the bases, Michael Conforto’s sac fly tied it at 1 and Kelly’s double plated two more.

Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (10-11, 3.83 ERA) faces Cubs RHP Clay Holmes (6-7, 2.83) on Saturday.

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Chicago Cubs' Nico Hoerner celebrates his double during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Esmerlyn Valdez, center, is helped off the field by first base coach Tarrik Brock, left, and a trainer during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds celebrates his home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch scores past Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Chicago Cubs' Alex Bregman, right, celebrates his two-run home run with Seiya Suzuki, left, during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

NEW YORK (AP) — Twenty-five years ago, Brielle Saracini was 10 years old and trying to cope with losing her father, Victor Saracini, the pilot on United flight 175, which was taken over by the 9/11 hijackers and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Spurred on by a friend, she wrote a letter to Derek Jeter, met the Yankees captain at Yankee Stadium and formed a lifelong friendship.

On Friday, as New York commemorated the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Saracini threw out the ceremonial first pitch with Jeter watching from the mound before the Yankees hosted the crosstown Mets.

“I remember just talking about anything and everything and anything that kind of came through my mind that day and you just made it so comfortable and I remember just feeling normal for a day, which was hard to do,” Saracini said while sitting next to Jeter at a news conference. “The odds were stacked against me that day but I remember just taking a minute and just having normal conversations and just feeling like a kid.”

Jeter remembers trying his best in a tough situation.

“When we invited her to the stadium, you really don’t know what to say,” Jeter said. “So I don’t even know if I said ‘I’m sorry’ or anything like that. I just tried to make her day feel special and I remember introducing her to all the players and bring her down and you just try to make her feel as comfortable as you possibly can.”

Toward the end of a nearly 30-minute ceremony, Saracini and husband, Sean McGuire — he wore a Mets jersey — threw to Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger. McGuire also lost his father on 9/11; the couple met at a camp for kids whose parents died in the attacks, and they married in 2017.

As Saracini and McGuire made their tosses, Jeter along with former teammates Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius, and their manager, Joe Torre, stood behind them.

During the ceremony, highlights of the Yankees’ 2001 postseason run were shown, including Jeter’s walk-off homer in Game 4 of the World Series that earned him the nickname “Mr. November.” The Yankees fell short in their bid for a fourth straight title when Luis Gonzalez singled off Rivera to give the Diamondbacks their only championship.

Acclaimed tenor James Valenti sung “The Star-Spangled Banner” while a massive American flag was unfurled in center field.

In the weeks before the ceremony, various members of the Yankees visited three fire stations in Manhattan. Earlier this week, several Yankees — including manager Aaron Boone — visited the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site.

Friday marked the second time the Mets and Yankees played on Sept. 11. The Yankees beat the Mets 8-7 at Citi Field on the 20th anniversary in 2021.

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New York Yankees fans share a message during a 9/11 ceremony before baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Former New York Yankee Derek Jeter shakes hands with Aaron Judge before baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

American flags stand at half staff during a 9/11 ceremony before baseball game between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Former New York Yankee Derek Jeter acknowledges fans during a 9/11 ceremony before a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Derek Jeter hugs Brielle Saracini before she throws out the ceremonial first pitch with husband Sean McGuire before a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)