Pittsburgh starter Braxton Ashcraft threw five solid innings and Jake Mangum had two hits and a run to lift the visiting Pirates to a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.

Ashcraft (11-4) allowed one run on two hits with one walk and five strikeouts before a 106-minute weather delay preceded the bottom of the sixth inning.

Bryan Reynolds, Esmerlyn Valdez, Nick Gonzales and Henry Davis finished with an RBI apiece for the Pirates, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

Gregory Soto pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his 14th save. Three Pittsburgh pitchers combined to hold Cincinnati to three hits. The Pirates recorded six hits.

Pittsburgh took a 3-0 lead in the third despite collecting only one hit. Davis drew a leadoff walk from starter Andrew Abbott (5-7), then Mangum singled and Brandon Lowe coaxed a walk to load the bases. Reynolds and Valdez drew consecutive bases-loaded walks to make it 2-0.

Gonzales followed with a fielder’s choice to plate Brandon Lowe and give the Pirates a three-run lead. As a steady rain fell throughout the inning, the grounds crew briefly tended to the mound.

Cincinnati got on the board in the fifth when Jose Trevino opened the frame with an opposite-field homer to right.

The Pirates extended their advantage to 4-1 in the sixth when Davis feathered an RBI single into shallow center, just beyond the reach of a diving TJ Friedl.

The Reds, who were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, threatened in the fourth. Sal Stewart was hit by a pitch before being forced out at second on JJ Bleday’s fielder’s choice. Nathaniel Lowe singled to center and, after Noelvi Marte popped out, Bleday advanced to third when no one covered second on Ashcraft’s pickoff attempt. But Eugenio Suarez struck out to end the inning.

Elly De La Cruz lined a rocket to center to open the eighth, but Mangum chased it down and made a leaping catch.

Abbott allowed three runs on three hits while matching a season high with five walks over five innings. He struck out one.

–Field Level Media

The Atlanta Braves added depth on the offensive and pitching sides on Saturday night, acquiring outfielder Lane Thomas and left-hander Bailey Falter from the Kansas City Royals.

In exchange for Thomas and Falter, Atlanta is sending right-hander Lucas Braun and left-hander Carter Holton to Kansas City. According to MLB Pipeline, Braun is the Braves’ No. 8 prospect. Thomas started Saturday’s road game in center field against the host Colorado Rockies, then was lifted in the fourth inning.

Thomas, 30, signed a one-year, $5.25 million deal in the offseason with the Royals and moved into an every-day role when center fielder Kyle Isbel went on the injured list on June 10. From that date through July 20, Thomas hit .262 with seven home runs, 12 doubles, 17 runs and 20 RBIs. For the season, he is hitting .232 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs in 97 games.

An eight-year veteran, Thomas was a fifth-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2014 MLB Draft and debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017. He also played for the Washington Nationals and Cleveland Guardians before joining the Royals and is a .240 hitter with 86 homers and 291 RBIs over 696 games.

Falter, 29, has only pitched in five games (two starts) this season, going 0-2 with a 13.97 ERA while spending time on the injured list with left elbow inflammation. A fifth-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2015, Falter is 25-32 with a 4.77 ERA in 119 games (85 starts) with the Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Royals over six seasons.

Braun, who turns 25 later this month, was selected in the sixth round by the Braves in 2023 and reached Double-A Columbus in his first full minor-league season in 2024. In 19 games (17 starts) for Columbus and Triple-A Gwinnett this year, Braun went 8-6 with a 3.53 ERA, 82 strikeouts and 27 walks in 94 1/3 innings. Over his minor league career, he is 24-18 with a 3.43 ERA in 77 games (73 starts), posting 421 strikeouts and 113 walks in 414 2/3 innings.

Holton, 23, was a second-round pick of the Braves in 2024 and is 2-2 with a 4.32 ERA in 10 games (eight starts) this season between Augusta in the Carolina League and the Florida Complex League. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2024 and missed the entire 2025 season.

–Field Level Media

Jonathan Sirois made nine saves to help FC Dallas preserve a 0-0 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night at Carson, Calif.

It was only Dallas’ fifth clean sheet, and the first of the season for the 25-year-old Canadian, who returned to the net last weekend when new acquisition Daniel had to depart with a hamstring injury.

Sirois’ performance helped Dallas (7-5-6, 27 points) improve to 2-2-1 five matches into a stretch of nine consecutive away league fixtures during the latest phase of an ongoing construction project at its home stadium.

J.T. Marcinkowski made four stops to keep his second clean sheet and a third for the Galaxy (5-7-7, 22 points), who are winless in their last five.

Los Angeles led 18-16 in shots and 9-4 in efforts on target, but missed a chance to go above the playoff line had it been able to find a goal and earn a third home win of the season.

Sirois’ best moment in the first half came on saves of John Nelson and Marco Reus in the 37th and 38th minutes before Harbor Miller followed with another attempt that missed high of the frame.

He was even busier after the break.

He denied Joseph Paintsil in the 58th minute with a lunging stop to his left, and substitute Kyogo Furuhashi 10 minutes later with a comfortable save from the Galaxy newcomer’s first real involvement in the game.

Then came the dying stages, when the Galaxy finally showed some desperation but could not solve Sirois.

In the 90th minute, he arched back to push Jakob Glesnes’ arcing header over the crossbar for arguably his finest stop of the match.

Just a moment later in second-half stoppage time, he intervened on what may have been an intended cross by Paintsil from the right side of the penalty area, nonetheless providing an important pair of sure hands for the visitors.

After that, he easily handled another effort from Nelson that came in at a catchable height, and punched away Reus’ free-kick service on what was the final kick of the game.

–Field Level Media