Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Bryan De La Cruz reacts after defeating the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes struck out six players to end a four-start winless streak. The Pittsburgh Pirates ended a 10-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.
Skenes (7-2), who was 0-2 in his previous starts, allowed two runs and three hits and had a career-high four walks in six innings in his first win since July 11. That win came in the 22-year-old right-hander’s final appearance before starting for the National League in the All-Star Game five days later.
Skenes was more pleased with the Pirates’ first win since August 3 than with the end of his losing streak.
“It feels good. It definitely doesn’t feel good that we even had this series,” Skenes said. “It’s nice to do it at home and get it behind us. Hopefully we can put it behind us.”
Skenes impressed Pirates manager Derek Shelton despite not being at his best.
“It looked like he was out of sync with his delivery all game, and yet he was able to get us off to a good start and give us a chance to win, and he got the win,” Shelton said.
David Bednar survived a rocky ninth inning to earn his 21st save. Jorge Polanco hit a home run to start the inning, cutting the Mariners’ lead to 5-3. Luke Raley followed with a single before Bednar struck out the final three batters.
Bednar, a two-time All-Star, has two losses and two blown saves in his last three appearances.
Logan Gilbert (7-9) suffered the loss after allowing four runs, three earned runs and five hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 6 1/3 innings, marking only the seventh time in 26 appearances this season that he has had a poor start.
The Mariners lost their fourth straight game after falling to Detroit in a three-game set. Seattle entered the game three games behind first-place Houston in the American League West and 3 ½ games behind the third wild card.
“We had good opportunities to hit against Skenes,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We wanted to be aggressive and we stuck to the plan. He’s just a really good pitcher. We did a good job against him. We played a good game after a bad series in Detroit, but we just lost.”
Yasmani Grandal hit a solo home run during a two-run fifth inning that gave the Pirates a final 3-2 lead. Grandal’s hit tied the game. Then Michael A. Taylor hit a single, stole second base and ran to third on a throwing error by catcher Cal Raleigh before scoring on Andrew McCutchen’s sacrifice fly.
Oneil Cruz’s two-run double off the glove of diving right fielder Dominic Canzone gave the Pirates a three-run lead.
“We got the big hit we’ve been waiting for — a couple of big hits we’ve been waiting for,” Shelton said. “Oneils was definitely a big hit with two outs. We haven’t been able to do that in the last 10 days.”
McCutchen and Cruz were injured while baserunning in the seventh inning and were taken out of the game. McCutchen suffered from soreness in his left knee and Cruz suffered from soreness in his left ankle.
Raley’s two-run home run in the fourth inning against Skenes opened the scoring. Raley’s 15th home run was a 412-footer that cleared the right-center field bleachers.
The Pirates were able to halve the deficit in the fourth inning with a double from Isiah Kiner-Falefa, which earned them a run.
Trainer room
Mariners: CF Julio Rodriguez (sore right ankle) returned to the lineup as DH after sitting out Thursday’s loss at Detroit and was 2 for 4.
Pirates RHP Colin Holderman (sprained right wrist) had a 25-pitch bullpen session before the game. He has been out since Aug. 8.
Next
Mariners RHP Luis Castillo (10-11, 3.40) pitches against LHP Bailey Falter (5-7, 4.07) on Saturday. Castillo has pitched at least six innings in his last seven starts, going 4-2 with a 2.27 ERA.
