The Pittsburgh Pirates lost their sixth straight game Thursday afternoon at Camden Yards in Baltimore, giving up two one-run leads before falling to the Orioles, 3-2.
The Pirates struck first for the third straight game as third baseman Jared Triolo crossed home plate on an RBI single by second baseman Nick Gonzales in the first inning. The threat ended there, however, as Gonzales was tagged out while trying to advance to second base on Dylan Beavers’ throw into the infield.
Baltimore responded immediately in the bottom half of the frame when third baseman Emmanuel Rivera drove home right fielder Jeremiah Jackson with a groundout to Gonzales. Jackson and shortstop Gunnar Henderson collected back-to-back hits off Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo to start the inning and move into scoring position.
Orioles first baseman Coby Mayo gave his team a 2-1 lead in the second inning with an RBI single into left field on a 2-2 slider at the top of the zone. Mayo drove home center fielder Colton Cowser, who drew a leadoff walk and moved to second with his second stolen base of the season.
The Pirates continued their early back-and-forth affair with the Orioles when center fielder Alexander Canario hit his sixth home run of the season. The 25-year-old jumped on a 3-1 fastball from Orioles starter Cade Povich and hit it 409 feet into the left-field seats.
Triolo tripled later in the frame and would’ve given the Pirates a one-run lead, but shortstop Liover Peguero was picked off at first base after drawing a six-pitch walk. Triolo was stranded at third after left fielder Tommy Pham struck out and right fielder Bryan Reynolds grounded out to Henderson, leaving the game tied at 2-2.
Oviedo settled in after the second inning and retired the next six batters he faced before running into trouble in the fifth. After issuing a leadoff walk to catcher Alex Jackson, second baseman Jackson Holliday singled into right field to put runners on first and third. Oviedo stranded the runners there by striking out Jeremiah Jackson and getting Henderson to line out to right field.
Oviedo put together his longest outing of the season. The right-hander threw 85 pitches and worked 5 ⅔ innings while allowing five hits, two earned runs and three walks. He struck out five. He exited the game in the sixth inning with runners on first and third. Reliever Colin Holderman got out of the jam by getting Mayo to pop out to Peguero behind third base.
The Pirates had plenty of opportunities to break the deadlock throughout the game as they went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base. After stranding Triolo at third in the third inning, Yorke was stranded there in the fifth. Pham, Peguero, and Gonzales were also stranded at second in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, respectively.
Beavers, who delivered the game-winning hit for Baltimore on Wednesday, gave his team a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning when he drove in Holliday with an infield single. Gonzales tried to field the hit while moving to his right, but the ball bounced off his glove in shallow right field, preventing him from throwing out Holliday at home.
Canario’s single in the ninth gave the Pirates a late opportunity, but pinch-runner Oneil Cruz was thrown out trying to move into scoring position to end it.
The Pirates move on to Washington, D.C., where they’ll face the Nationals in a three-game set starting Friday.