The Pirates and Guardians split their July 18 doubleheader.
Pittsburgh controlled Game 1 with a 7-1 win. Jacob Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the second inning, Esmerlyn Valdez added a two-run shot in the sixth, and Nick Gonzales also homered as the Pirates pulled away.
Cleveland answered in Game 2. The Guardians trailed 3-0 entering the eighth before RBI singles from Chase DeLauter and Kahlil Watson tied the game.
Travis Bazzana finished it in the ninth with a two-run walk-off homer, giving Cleveland a 5-3 win.
What It Means
The Guardians moved to 52-47. The Pirates ended the day at 51-48.
BaseChaser lists Cleveland at 74.8% to make the playoffs, down 1.3 percentage points. Pittsburgh sits at 30.0%, up 0.9 percentage points.
Pittsburgh picked up ground, but Cleveland avoided a costly sweep and stayed in a strong position on the BaseChaser board.
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