Bucs Lose Fifth in a Row at the Hands of Mariners, 4-1

The Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated Roberto Clemente Day on Wednesday night, but the Great One’s number painted on the infield grass wasn’t enough to snap their losing skid. In fact, the Bucs were almost blanked for the second night in a row on their way to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Mariners.

The M’s started the scoring in the top of the second inning when the eighth hitter Dylan Moore hit a two-out double to left field. It scored two runners, giving Seattle an early 2-0 lead.

Right-handed starter Justin Dunn fared better in his second career start than his first, making it through two scoreless innings. Dunn didn’t make it out of the first inning in his debut, walking five batters. He still walked three in his two innings, but he was able to keep the base runners from coming around to score.

Southpaw Tommy Milone came in to start the third inning for Seattle, and he pitched flawlessly for five frames. The veteran only struck out one Pirate, but he allowed just two harmless hits in the process.

Meanwhile, the Mariners were able to tack on two more runs to their lead in the top of the fourth inning off of Dario Agrazal. Kyle Lewis and Tom Murphy went back-to-back to give Seattle a 4-0 lead.

Agrazal would last one more inning before finishing with a line of four earned runs over five innings. His outing was more effective than the final results say, as his six strikeouts to six hits and one walk will typically lend better outcomes than this one.

The Pirates were able to avoid the shutout in the bottom of the eighth inning when Cole Tucker hit a one-out triple to right field. Kevin Newman promptly drove him in with an RBI groundout to third. Colin Moran and Jose Osuna started off the ninth with promising back-to-back singles, but a flyout and two lineouts ended things quickly. The final score held at 4-1.

Pittsburgh will look to avoid the sweep tomorrow in a matinee at PNC Park. First pitch is set for 12:35 pm Eastern time, and right-hander Joe Musgrove will take on lefty Yusei Kikuchi.