Unheralded Billy Cook makes key plays to help Pirates beat Guardians

Field Level Media|published: Sun 19th July, 16:42 2026

Jul 19, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez (55) celebrates with center fielder Billy Cook (25) after hitting a home run during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Billy Cook collected three hits and drove in his first two runs of the season, fueling the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday afternoon.

Cook had six hits in 35 at-bats this season heading into Sunday's game.

The center fielder also contributed on defense, firing a strike to catcher Henry Davis to throw out rookie Chase DeLauter at home plate in the fourth inning.

Cook's heroics helped Paul Skenes (9-8) win his third straight start. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner allowed one run on seven hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings.

Rookie Esmerlyn Valdez provided insurance by belting a two-run homer in the ninth inning. The homer was Valdez's 12th of the season and sixth in his last seven games.

Playing in his 57th game of the season, Cook drove in his first run with an RBI single in the second inning. He tripled to lead off the fifth inning and scored after catcher Patrick Bailey's pickoff attempt landed in left field, giving Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead.

The Pirates extended their advantage to 3-1 after Nick Gonzales and Jacob Gonzalez each doubled to lead off the sixth inning. That chased starter Joey Cantillo (8-5), and Cook and Jake Mangum each added an RBI single to pad the cushion for Pittsburgh.

Jared Triolo, Mangum and Gonzales each had two of the 11 hits for the Pirates, who won the decisive contest of the three-game series to improve to 5-1 in their last six contests overall.

Cleveland's Steven Kwan had two hits, including an RBI bunt single in the third inning.

Cantillo was charged with four runs on seven hits in five-plus innings.

Gonzales doubled to lead off the second inning against Cantillo before scooting home to open the scoring after Cook's bouncer found its way into right field.

The Guardians countered in the third inning as Gabriel Arias singled, advanced to third on a base hit by Petey Halpin and scored on a head-first slide at the plate after Davis failed to cleanly catch the ball.

--Field Level Media