Pirates stuck in losing doldrums after falling to Tigers

Tuesday was another pitiful night for the Pittsburgh Pirates as their offense continued to flatline in a 4-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

The Pirates strung together just five hits against former Cincinnati Red Michael Lorenzen. Among them was a double by Carlos Santana and singles by Andrew McCutchen, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Tucupita Marcano, and Jason Delay.

Starter Luis Ortiz also looked shaky in his second start of the year as he allowed four runs, three earned, over three innings. He also walked four walks, three strikeouts, a wild pitch and an errant pick-off in the third.

On the bright side, Yohan Ramirez and Duane Underwood Jr. combined for five innings of scoreless relief.

The Tigers garnered their offensive support early on. Javier Baez singled home the game’s first run in the opening frame, and Spencer Torkelson followed with a RBI double in the following at-bat. The final two runs came off the aforementioned pick-off and wild pitch in the third.

Lorenzen dominated the Pirates lineup, striking out seven and allowing just two walks over six innings.

The Pirates look to split the series on Wednesday, but it’ll be a tough challenge as they face Eduardo Rodriguez (4-2, 1.57 ERA). Rich Hill (3-3, 4.35 ERA) will start for Pittsburgh. First pitch is 1:10 p.m.