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PITTSBURGH -- Ryan O'Hearn hit a grand slam on his 33rd birthday, and the Pittsburgh Pirates held off the Chicago Cubs 8-7 on Sunday to avoid being swept in the three-game series.
The Cubs nearly erased a six-run deficit. Seiya Suzuki hit a two-run home run with one out in the ninth inning to make it a one-run game, but Mason Montgomery held on for his second save.
O'Hearn's blast to center field in the third inning extended the Pirates' lead to 7-1. That came an inning after a pair of rookies homered, with Esmerlyn Valdez hitting a leadoff shot and Shawn Ross hitting a two-run blast for his first career home run.
It was the fourth career grand slam for O'Hearn and second this season. His 17 home runs match the nine-year veteran's career high.
"He's a pro," Pirates manager Don Kelly said of O'Hearn. "He's a leader in our clubhouse the way he gets after it every day. You wouldn't know whether he's going through it, if he's swinging the bat well or he's not.
"Are there frustrations at times? There are for every player that plays this game because it's a hard game to play -- especially from a hitting standpoint. You wouldn't know with him. He works hard every single day."
Valdez has 14 home runs in just 37 games. Ross, a catcher, was making his first career start after being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday.
"Puerto Rico is really known to be a great support system," Ross said. "Everybody is texting me and congratulating me. It's just amazing, and I'm proud of myself because of that."
All three home runs came off Jameson Taillon (2-6), who has given up 25 long balls in just 76 innings this season. Taillon lasted four innings, was charged with seven runs on six hits and is winless in his last nine starts.
Braxton Ashcraft (10-4) pitched six innings and allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five.
Brandon Lowe had three of the Pirates' 11 hits while Valdez and Nick Gonzales had two each. The Cubs got two hits apiece from Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, rookie Pedro Ramirez and Dansby Swanson.
Saturday's game
Pete Crow-Armstrong was 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs to lead the Cubs to an 11-0 rout of the Pirates on Saturday night.
Shota Imanaga (7-8) held Pittsburgh to four hits in six innings, striking out four and walking one.
Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes (9-9), who had allowed five runs in 18• innings to win his previous three starts, struck out 11 in 5• innings but gave up five earned runs on six hits and two walks.
Crow-Armstong, who was a triple short of the cycle, had an extra-base hit in three straight innings, capped by a two-run homer over the wall in right off Ron Marinaccio to give Chicago a 10-run lead in the seventh inning. It was his 23rd of the season.
He also had a single in the first and an RBI double in the fifth off Skenes, and a double off Isaac Mattson in the sixth.
Top pick signed
The Pirates announced Sunday the club signed outfielder Derek Curiel, who was selected with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 First-Year Player Draft.
The deal is for $6,200,000, per MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis.
Baseball America tabbed Curiel, who attended LSU (2025-26), as the best hitter, as well as one of the top defensive outfielders, among all college-level players in this year's draft.
"It's been a dream come true," Curiel said. "Been a lot of years of hard work since I was 3 years old. A lot of time in the field, working hard, making the decision to go to college, choosing to get better, develop. It's been great. It's kind of just sown in some great things, and now we get to reap the reward. And then now we got to go sow some more, and then reap rewards later. So just definitely enjoying it, and excited to get to work."
Curiel will take batting practice on the field today before heading down to Pirates City Tuesday.
Up next
Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (6-7, 4.90) pitches against Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (8-8, 5.12) tonight in the opener of a three-game home series.