Tempers flare as Pirates fall to Rays

For the second straight night, the Pittsburgh Pirates were plagued by poor defense and questionable officiating, and it resulted in an 8-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Pirates took a lead in the top of the third thanks to a solo home run by Andrew McCutchen, his sixth of the year.

The Rays, however, bounced back with a three-run bottom of the inning. Things started with a defensive gaffe by Rodolfo Castro which allowed the tying run to score, then Brandon Lowe doubled in two more to push the Rays ahead.

Things got even worse for the Pirates in the fourth. Manager Derek Shelton was ejected after arguing with third base umpire Adrian Johnson, claiming Rays starter Shane McClanahan violated the pitch clock rule but was not held accountable for it.

Immediately after, Johnson was shown telling bench coach Don Kelly “I’m watching you.”

With Pandora’s Box wide open, the Rays poured on five runs over the final five innings. Two of which came on home runs by Josh Lowe and Wander Franco.

One bright spot for Pittsburgh was starter Mitch Keller, who struck out eight over five innings pitched and allowed just one earned run.

The Pirates will try to avoid being swept Thursday afternoon. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m.