CHICAGO (Interstat) — Oneil Cruz’s fourth hit of the afternoon sparked the winning rally, and the Pittsburgh Pirates capitalized on a critical error by Chicago Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar in the 11th inning to secure a 4-3 victory on Saturday at Wrigley Field.

In a game that stretched into the evening and required four hours and 40 minutes to complete, the Pirates (9-5) won their second straight over the Cubs (6-8) in extra innings, this time before a crowd of 34,049.

The decisive frame unfolded after two quick outs. Thielbar, who took the loss to fall to 1-2, intentionally walked the red-hot Cruz, who finished 4 for 5 with a double and two runs scored. With Nick Gonzales, the automatic runner, on second, Brandon Lowe hit a soft grounder back to the mound. Thielbar’s hurried throw to first sailed wide, allowing Gonzales to score the go-ahead run as Cruz advanced to third.

The error was the game’s most important moment, a defensive breakdown that decided a tense, back-and-forth contest defined by strong pitching and missed opportunities.

Pittsburgh’s Yohan Ramírez, who earned the win to improve to 2-0, then worked a scoreless bottom of the 11th, navigating self-created trouble. He committed a throwing error that put the tying run on third with none out. After intentionally walking Ian Happ to load the bases with one out, Ramírez induced a pop-out from Seiya Suzuki to end the game.

The Pirates built an early 3-0 lead against Cubs starter Edward Cabrera. They scored once in the second on a double-play grounder by Spencer Horwitz and added two in the third on an RBI single by Bryan Reynolds and a sacrifice fly by Ryan O’Hearn.

That cushion was largely provided by Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft, who delivered the top performance of the day. The right-hander dominated over five innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out nine. His only blemish was an RBI groundout by Nico Hoerner in the fifth. Ashcraft has now allowed three earned runs over 17 innings in his last three starts.

Chicago’s bullpen, however, kept the Cubs in the game. After Cabrera allowed three runs on eight hits over five innings, Ben Brown, Daniel Palencia and Hoby Milner combined for four scoreless frames, giving the offense time to rally.

The Cubs chipped away. They made it 3-2 in the seventh on Dansby Swanson’s RBI groundout. Then, in the ninth against Pirates reliever Isaac Mattson, they tied the game. With two on and two out, Alex Bregman lined a single to center, scoring Swanson to force extra innings.

Both teams threatened in the 10th but failed to score, setting the stage for the chaotic 11th.

The Pirates’ bullpen, after Ashcraft’s departure, was effective despite the blown save. Mason Montgomery struck out two in a scoreless eighth, and Gregory Soto recorded a key out. Ramírez finished with two hitless innings, striking out two.

The victory defied pregame projections, as the Cubs were installed as a -1.5 favorite with a 60.9% win probability by Interstat’s ELO system. The total of seven runs also went under the projected over/under line of 6.5.

Pittsburgh will go for a series sweep on Sunday afternoon. The Cubs will look to avoid falling three games below .500 before embarking on a road trip to Philadelphia.