Pirates Collapse in Eighth Inning vs. Marlins; Lose 10th Straight

Recap

Mitch Keller turned in an excellent start and Henry Davis slugged his first-career home run and it looked like the Pittsburgh Pirates were about to snap their nine-game losing streak.

However, the Miami Marlins rallied for five runs against the Pirates’ bullpen as they defeated Pittsburgh 6-4 on Thursday night at loanDepot park.

With the Pirates leading 4-1, Dauri Moreta loaded the bases without recording an out in the eighth inning. Derek Shelton turned to Carmen Mlodzinski, who allowed a two-run single to Bryan De La Cruz on the first pitch.

Two batters later, Garrett Cooper hit a three-run home run off of Mlodzinski to put the Marlins ahead for good.

Key Moment

Cooper’s home run not only gave the Marlins the lead, but it added to the horror show that is the Pirates over their big-time skid these last 10 games.

Star of the Game

Keller held the Marlins to just a single run on five hits and didn’t walk a batter. He struck out five Marlins’ batters.

Stat of Interest

In his last start against the Pirates on July 12 last year, Braxton Garrett struck out 11 Pirates’ in six innings. In this one, he sat down a career-high 13 batters on strikes in seven innings.

Noteworthy

• After going 0 for 4 with four strikeouts, Jack Suwinski has now gone hitless in his last 25 at-bats.
• Ke’Bryan Hayes finished the game 2 for 4 with a double and a home run, his fifth long ball of the season.
• Carlos Santana snapped an 0-for-12 skid with an RBI double in the fourth inning. Davis’ home run snapped an 0-for-10 slump.
• With two home runs and two doubles, this marked the first time the Pirates had more than two-extra-base hits in a game since June 14 against the Cubs (two 2Bs, three HRs).
• Outfielder Bryan Reynolds was placed on the 10-day injured list with low back inflammation and right-hander Cody Bolton was recalled from Triple-A.
• First baseman/designated hitter Ji-Man Choi began a rehab assignment with Double-A Altoona

Up Next

The Pirates (34-40) and Marlins (43-33) will continue their four-game series on Friday night. Rookie right-hander Luis Ortiz (1-3, 4.30 ERA) will be on the mound for Pittsburgh. Left-hander Jesus Luzardo (6-5, 4.09 ERA) will go for Miami. First pitch: 6:40.