Offense Stalls as Pirates Fall to Rangers; Highway Robbery!
The Pittsburgh Pirates saw an early lead slip away and watched Evan Carter steal the chance of another in a 5-1 loss to the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Tuesday night.
Scoring Plays
Top 1st, 1-0 PIT: Ryan O’Hearn singled home Oneil Cruz off Kumar Rocker (1-1) to give the Pirates (13-10) an early 1-0 lead.
Bottom 2nd, 2-1 TEX: The Pirates’ lead was short-lived as the Rangers (12-11) went ahead by a run in the second inning against Carmen Mlodzinski (1-1). Evan Carter single to right and Josh Smith plated another via sac fly.
Bottom 5th, 5-1 TEX: Texas ballooned its lead with a three-run fifth. Ezequiel Duran doubled home a run, Corey Seager plated another on a base hit and Josh Jung brought home another on a fielder’s choice. All three runs were charged to Mlodzinski.
Key Moments
Rangers center fielder Evan Carter robbed Oneil Cruz of a three–run home run that would have turned a 2-1 deficit into a two-run lead for the Pirates.
Player of the Game
Rangers starter Kumar Rocker — remember the #TankForKumar movement? — held the Pirates to one run in six innings and struck out five.
Stat to Know
Carmen Mlodzinski took his first loss since last year on Aug. 9 against the Cincinnati Reds. He had won four straight decisions and went 15 appearances without taking a loss.
Notable Performances
- Carmen Mlodzinski: 4.1 innings, six hits, five runs, two walks, six strikeouts, 93 pitches/58 strikes
- Jake Mangum: 2 for 4
- Nick Gonzales: 2 for 4
Noteworthy
- Carmen Mlodzinski’s 13-inning scoreless streak ended in the bottom of the second inning. The right-hander has still not allowed a home run over his last 71.1 innings, the longest active streak in MLB.
- Marcell Ozuna’s seven-game hitting streak ended with an 0-for-4 performance. Konnor Griffin’s six-game hit streak ended with an 0-for-3 night.
- Brandon Lowe (left knee discomfort) was not in the starting lineup for a second straight game.
Up Next
The Pirates will send Texas-native RHP Braxton Ashcraft (1-1, 2.38 ERA) out to the mound on Wednesday night. RHP Jack Leiter (1-1, 4.87) will start for the Rangers. First pitch: 8:05 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh+/93.7 The Fan.
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Home run taken away, ball stuck in glove, and the pitches were not moving as crisp as the pitchers have talent to do. This was a snake bit game. Has nothing to do with talent. During the 162 game season you will have this.