Ortiz, Pirates Knocked Around by Rays in 10-3 Loss

PITTSBURGH — Luis Ortiz has thrived this season in a long-relief role but struggled on Friday night for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 10-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park. 

Carmen Mlodzinski was once again used as an opener and allowed one run on four hits in 1.2 innings pitched. In the second inning, Taylor Walls hit a sac fly to the warning track in right field to give the Rays (37-39) the early lead.

As has been the case when Mlodzinski (1-3) starts, Ortiz piggy-backed as the bulk reliever. The right-hander was tagged for six runs on 10 hits in four innings pitched. He walked one and struck out three. 

Josh Lowe hit a solo shot over the Clemente Wall in right field in the third inning. Lowe connected on his second homer of the game off of Ortiz in the sixth inning, a three-run shot over the notch in left-center to put Tampa ahead 7-2. 

Yandy Díaz singled home a run in the fourth inning and Brandon Lowe followed with an RBI single of his own. 

The Rays added three more runs when Ben Rortvedt connected on a three-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning off of Daulton Jefferies, who was making his team debut.

Ke’Bryan Hayes plated the Pirates’ first run of the game with a base hit in the fourth. Later in the inning, Jack Suwinski hit an RBI double to left field. The Pirates (36-39) had the bases loaded with one out for Andrew McCutchen, but he bounced into an inning-ending double play on the first pitch he saw from reliever Colin Poche (1-1).

Bryan Reynolds extended his hitting streak to a career-high 18 games with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. The solo blast to right-center measured 439 feet.

Bryan Reynolds extends his hitting streak to 18 games with a big blast to right! pic.twitter.com/4iobdJpiPc

— MLB (@MLB) June 22, 2024

The Pirates were outhit 17-5 by the Rays in the loss.

Up Next

Rookie Jared Jones (4-6, 3.76 ERA) will be on the mound for the Pirates on Saturday. Zach Eflin (3-4, 4.12 ERA) will pitch for the Rays. First pitch: 4:05 ET. 

News and Notes

• Catcher Joey Bart and infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae started rehab assignments with Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday. Left-hander Martín Pérez will make his first rehab start with Indianapolis on Tuesday.