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Its Friday, April 18 and the Guardians (9-9) are in Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates (8-12). Luis L. Ortiz is slated to take the mound for Cleveland against Carmen Mlodzinski for Pittsburgh. Cleveland has lost two in a row and three of their last four.

Oneil Cruz hit a leadoff home run, Andrew Heaney pitched 7 1/3 innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 1-0.

Expert recap and game analysis of the Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Washington Nationals MLB game from April 17, 2025 on ESPN.

The Guardians will get their first look at Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes on Saturday. Skenes was the NL Rookie of the Year last season and finished third in the Cy Young voting.

Pittsburgh Pirates veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen was nearly hit in the head with a pitch during Wednesday night's game against the Washington Nationals, leading to the benches clearing during the game.

MLB issued a three-game suspension to Washington Nationals pitcher Jorge Lopez for intentionally throwing a pitch at outfielder Andrew McCutchen during a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the league announced Thursday.

Jorge Lopez was ejected from the game against the Pirates after a high pitch near Andrew McCutchen’s head led to the benches briefly clearing in the seventh inning.