Jeanmar Gomez makes spot start, shuts down Mariners in 4-1 win

Jeanmar Gomez stepped in as a spot starter and pitched five strong innings, leading the Bucs to a 4-1 victory over the Mariners.

Overall, the Pirates couldn't do much against Aaron Harang, who struck out six and walked none over six innings. But the Bucs did get to Harang early. Starling Marte hit an infield single in the first, and Travis Snider and Andrew McCutchen followed with back-to-back doubles to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

The score would remain at 2-0 until the seventh, when Raul Ibanez's RBI double off Jose Contreras cut the lead in half. McCutchen singled and Garrett Jones blasted a ball to right off Carter Capps in the eighth, however, to give the Pirates a 4-1 lead.

This was the sort of spot where I'd like to see the Pirates have Jason Grilli sit down, so that he'll be available next time they have a tie game or a bases-loaded situation in the late innings, but Grilli pitched the ninth for the cheap save, throwing with the bases empty to Mike Morse and two guys (Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley) who have OPSes below .700 this year. (These are the Mariners' 4-5-6 hitters; it's just not a very good hitting team.) A win makes these sorts of matters seem less urgent, obviously, but that doesn't change the underlying issue here.