ARLINGTON, Texas — A tie game turned quickly into a loss for the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.
Pittsburgh broke open a deadlock with a four-run ninth inning, highlighted by a towering three-run homer from Oneil Cruz, to hand Texas an 8-4 defeat at Globe Life Field.
The setback drops the Rangers back to .500 at 12-12 and halts a four-game home winning streak. Texas is now 4-4 at home this season and fell to 0-2 in games tied after eight innings.
Texas clawed back late to even the score. Trailing 4-2 entering the eighth, the Rangers capitalized with two outs as Jake Burger lined a two-run single to center, tying the game at 4-all. The hit continued a strong stretch for Burger, who has recorded hits in eight of his last 10 games and remains one of the league’s most productive hitters in late-inning situations.
That momentum didn’t last.
Pittsburgh regained control in the ninth, beginning with a go-ahead RBI fielder’s choice before Cruz delivered the decisive blow — a 116.9 mph drive that struck high off the right-field foul pole. The blast was one of the hardest-hit balls recorded at Globe Life Field in the Statcast era.
Rangers starter Jack Leiter worked five innings but did not factor into the decision. He allowed four runs, three earned, with all of the damage coming with two outs — a continued trend early in his season. Opponents are hitting significantly better against Leiter in those situations compared to all others.
After surrendering an RBI single to Marcell Ozuna in the first, Leiter settled in and retired 10 straight before Pittsburgh broke through again in the fifth. Brandon Lowe tied the game with an RBI single before Bryan Reynolds followed with a go-ahead hit, part of a two-run inning aided by a defensive miscue.
Texas briefly grabbed the lead earlier thanks to Josh Jung, who continued his torrid April with a two-run opposite-field homer in the second inning. Jung finished 2 for 4 and has now driven in a run in six straight games, building one of the hottest months by a Rangers hitter in recent years.
Pittsburgh starter Braxton Ashcraft turned in a strong outing, allowing just one early mistake over a career-high seven innings. He exited with a lead but also settled for a no-decision after Texas rallied late.
The Pirates evened the three-game series and improved their strong run of form, winning 13 of their last 20 games. They will look to secure another interleague series victory in Wednesday’s finale.
Despite the loss, Texas has still won seven of its last 10 meetings against Pittsburgh dating back to 2023.
