Jameson Taillon, Sean Rodriguez lead Pirates to 8-1 win

Jameson Taillon pitched six terrific innings and Sean Rodriguez and Starling Marte came up big offensively as the Pirates split their two-game set with the Mariners with an 8-1 win Wednesday.

Taillon, giving a rare excellent performance from a Bucs starting pitcher, struck out six and walked none, allowing six hits. He threw 68 of 95 pitches for strikes and got seven ground-ball outs versus just one in the air. It was, in other words, an excellent performance to match Taillon's second big-league start against the Mets two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the Pirates' offense hung crooked numbers in three separate innings. They got three off Wade Miley in the second as David Freese homered and Josh Harrison brought home two runs with a double. Then, in the fourth, Rodriguez doubled home a run, and Jordy Mercer singled home another. Rodriguez then came up the following inning with the bases loaded and brought everyone home with a double down the left-field line. Rodriguez finished the game with four RBIs, and Marte scored three times.

The game quieted down significantly after that (well, after Nathan Karns got the Mariners out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh), as the Bucs relied on some of their more effective relievers (A.J. Schugel, Neftali Feliz and Tony Watson) to get through the late innings -- which they did, combining for three perfect frames. Good game. Oh, and this happened.

The Pirates have the day off tomorrow, then kick off a three-game set in Oakland starting Friday.