{"id":673883,"date":"2026-04-12T06:51:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T06:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/673883\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T06:51:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T06:51:26","slug":"pirates-oneil-cruz-delivers-four-hit-game-in-extra-inning-win-over-cubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/673883\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates’ Oneil Cruz Delivers Four-Hit Game in Extra-Inning Win Over Cubs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AOneil Cruz’s four-hit performance powers the Pirates to an extra-inning victory over their NL Central rivals, the Cubs.Chicago Today<\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in 11 innings on Saturday, with shortstop Oneil Cruz leading the way with a four-hit performance. The win keeps the Pirates atop the NL Central division standings.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

Oneil Cruz is one of the Pirates’ top young talents, and his breakout game against the division rival Cubs could be a sign of things to come as Pittsburgh looks to make a playoff push this season. The extra-inning victory also maintains the Pirates’ slim lead in the competitive NL Central race.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

In the 11th inning, the Pirates scored the go-ahead run to defeat the Cubs 4-3. Shortstop Oneil Cruz led the Pirates’ offense, going 4-for-6 at the plate with a double and a run scored. The 24-year-old Cruz is considered one of the top young players in baseball and his big game helped Pittsburgh secure the road win against their division rivals.<\/p>\n

The game was played on Saturday, April 12, 2026.The Pirates won the game in 11 innings.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Oneil Cruz<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, considered one of the top young players in Major League Baseball.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Pirates<\/p>\n

The professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that currently leads the NL Central division.<\/p>\n

Chicago Cubs<\/p>\n

The professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois that is a division rival of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Central.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a>
\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cOneil really set the tone for us today with his bat. When he’s swinging it like that, it makes our whole lineup that much more dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Derek Shelton, Manager, Pittsburgh Pirates<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The Pirates and Cubs will play the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday, April 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

Oneil Cruz’s breakout performance at the plate helped the Pirates maintain their lead atop the NL Central division, showcasing the young shortstop’s immense potential as Pittsburgh looks to return to the playoffs this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a Oneil Cruz’s four-hit performance powers the Pirates to an extra-inning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":673884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2402],"tags":[5,4,10,776,64,4297],"class_list":{"0":"post-673883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-pirates","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-pirates","11":"tag-pittsburgh","12":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates","13":"tag-pittsburghpirates"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116390415378581909","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/673884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}