The Pirates entered this series against the Mariners back at .500, but reeling a bit after dropping two of three to one of the worst teams in baseball in Colorado. With the schedule only getting tougher before the All-Star Break, the sense of urgency needed to rise for the Bucs if they wanted to stay in the thick of the postseason picture.
Pittsburgh was hoping some home cooking at PNC Park would help get things back on track. Instead, Game 1 felt like another punch to the gut before the Pirates responded in a big way over the final two games to earn a much-needed series victory.
Game 1
The Pirates got off to a strong start offensively, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead courtesy of a Marcell Ozuna RBI single and a Nick Gonzales ground ball that resulted in an error to bring home another run.
Mitch Keller desperately needed a quality start, and for six innings it looked like he was finally putting one together. He kept Seattle in check for most of the night, but a couple of bad at bats in the seventh completely changed the feel of his outing.
Pitching with a 2-1 lead, Keller allowed a double to Luke Raley that brought North Allegheny product Cole Young to the plate. As seems to happen so often when Pittsburgh natives face the Pirates, Young made the hometown crowd pay. He launched a no-doubt two-run homer over the Clemente Wall to flip the game on its head and give Seattle a 3-2 lead.
That score would hold final, wasting a strong effort from Keller and handing the Pirates another frustrating loss in a game they desperately needed.
Game 2
Game 2 felt like a must-win, and once again the Pirates answered the bell.
After being no-hit into the fourth inning and trailing 1-0, Pittsburgh desperately needed someone to spark the offense against Bryan Woo. Endy Rodriguez delivered exactly that, ripping a clutch two-run double to put the Pirates in front and wake up both the dugout and the crowd at PNC Park.
From there, the offense completely exploded. Tyler Callihan lined an RBI triple before Jake Mangum brought him home to make it 4-1. Later, Esmerlyn Valdez, who entered after Spencer Horwitz exited with an injury, ripped a long single off the wall in center field to plate another run.
The hits just kept coming. Ryan O'Hearn collected an RBI double, Rodriguez added another RBI single, and Callihan chipped in with a sacrifice fly as the Pirates pushed the lead to 9-1.
Bryan Reynolds continued his scorching stretch with another RBI double before O'Hearn capped off an incredible night by ripping his third double of the game to make it 11-1. By that point, the Mariners were probably begging for mercy.
The 11-1 score would hold final as Braxton Ashcraft and Carmen Mlodzinski combined to completely shut down Seattle.
Ashcraft was brilliant yet again, recording his second start this season with 10 strikeouts and no walks. That is a feat that has not been accomplished by many Pirates pitchers in quite some time, and he continues to establish himself as one of the biggest bright spots on this club.
Game 3
That set up a chance for the Pirates to win the series, although they would have to do it against Bryce Miller and his sparkling sub-2.00 ERA.
Fortunately, they have Brandon Lowe. Lowe wasted absolutely no time, launching his 19th home run of the season in the first inning to give the Pirates an early lead. He now sits just four home runs shy of Neil Walker's franchise record for the most home runs in a season by a Pirates second baseman. At this rate, it certainly feels like Bam Bam is on his way to breaking it.
The bottom of the order kept the pressure on in the third inning. Jared Triolo reached with a single before Henry Davis crushed an opposite field two-run homer to stretch the lead to 3-0.
Bubba Chandler continued his recent turnaround with another encouraging outing. He worked 5.1 innings while allowing just one run, escaping multiple jams along the way. Chandler has looked much more comfortable over his last few starts, and how he performs the rest of the season could play a major role in where this Pirates team finishes.
Leading 3-1 late, the Pirates made sure not to leave the door open. After Henry Davis doubled in the eighth, Lowe delivered again with an RBI single up the middle to make it 4-1. Ryan O'Hearn followed with an RBI single of his own later in the inning to stretch the advantage to 5-1 and give the Pirates some much-needed breathing room.
Gregory Soto handled the rest, retiring the top of Seattle's order in a clean 1-2-3 ninth inning to lock down the win and secure the series.
The Pirates bounced back after a frustrating opener by taking the final two games and earning a big series victory to begin the homestand.
Final Thoughts
The Pirates have made a habit of responding after disappointing losses this season, and they did it again in this series. Dropping the opener in the fashion they did could have easily snowballed into another series defeat, but instead they answered with two of their better all-around performances of the year.
Braxton Ashcraft continues to establish himself as one of the best stories on this team. Another double-digit strikeout performance without issuing a walk is incredibly impressive, and every time he takes the mound he continues to look more and more like a frontline starter.
Brandon Lowe is simply carrying this offense. Nineteen home runs before the All-Star Break is remarkable, and it feels like every big Pirates win has his fingerprints all over it. Ryan O'Hearn has been outstanding as well, while Bryan Reynolds continues to stay red hot at the plate.
It was also encouraging to see Bubba Chandler continue trending in the right direction. If he can keep building off these last couple of outings, it would provide a massive boost for a rotation that has already been one of the strengths of this club.
The Pirates will look to carry this momentum into another important division series as the Reds come to PNC Park for the weekend. The opener features Paul Skenes against Andrew Abbott, with first pitch set for 6:40 PM.
