Pirates keel over against A’s with 9-5 loss

It was a game to forget for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday as a rough outing by starter Roansy Contreras resulted in a 9-5 loss against the Oakland Athletics.

Contreras struggled right out of the gate, allowing five runs, six hits and two walks before recording an out. Rob Zastryzny attempted to stop the bleeding but allowed two run-scoring walks. Both of those runs credited to Contreras.

Rodolfo Castro got the Pirates on the board in the bottom of the second with a 430-foot solo home run to left.

He later followed with a double that plated two in the fourth.

Ryan Noda and Brent Rooker added two insurance runs in the seventh. One coming from an opposite field home run by Noda, the other on a double by Rooker.

The Pirates scraped two more runs in the seventh and ninth innings, and even threatened with the tying run at the plate in the latter frame, but Ke’Bryan Hayes ended the game on a ground ball to first.

Castro finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI. Hayes collected another three-hit performance that included a triple.

The loss put a lid on an ugly series for the Pirates, who open a weekend series Friday against the New York Mets.

Hopefully, we see some new faces on the roster before then.