Photo provided by Matt Lynch
PITTSBURGH — Wednesday’s rubber match at PNC Park featured two teams pushing for a wild card spot, but the Pirates were unable to gain ground after being blanked 3-0 by the Diamondbacks.
Scoring Plays
Top 4th, 2-0 ARZ: Pirates starter Jared Jones (2-2) retired the first nine batters he faced before Corbin Carroll led off the fourth with a double. Two batters later, Gabriel Moreno connected on a two-run home run to center field to give the Diamondbacks (57-52) the lead.
Top 6th, 3-0 ARZ: Jones issued a two-out walk then allowed back-to-back base hits, the latter of which was a Max Kepler RBI single to right field.
Key Moments
The Pirates threatened in the fourth inning with two on and one out in the fourth but Esmerlyn Valdez bounced into an inning-ending double play. Pittsburgh only had one runner reach scoring position after that.
Player of the Game
Dbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3) blanked the Pirates (55-54) across eight innings. The veteran left-hander scattered five hits, walked one ad struck out a pair. He threw 105 pitches and 72 for strikes.
Stat to Know
Jared Jones hadn’t allowed a hit to a right-handed batter since his start against the Phillies on July 2. Opposing right-handed hitters were 0 for 22 against him over his last three starts and 0 for 3 against him to begin Wednesday’s outing before Gabriel Moreno’s home run in the fourth.
Notable Performances
Jared Jones: 6.0 innings, four hits, three runs two walks, five strikeouts, 77 pitches/48 strikes
Carmen Mlodzinski: 3.0 innings, two hits, no runs, no walks, one strikeout, 30 pitches/20 strikes
Jared Triolo: 2 for 3, one steal
Noteworthy
With the loss, the Pirates were unable to secure the season tiebreaker and fell two games behind the Dbacks in the National League wild card race.
Nick Gonzales extended his career-high hit streak to 13 games with a leadoff singe in the first.
The Pirates recalled OF Jhostynxon Garcia, LHP Hunter Barco and RHP Noah Murdock from Triple-A Indianapolis. INF/OF Tyler Callihan, LHP Brandon Eisert and RHP Isaac Mattson were optioned.
Up Next
The Pirates will hit the road and head to Cincinnati for the start of a four-game series on Thursday night. Pittsburgh has yet to announce a starting pitcher. RHP Rhett Lowder (3-7, 5.61 ERA) will be on the mound for the Reds. First pitch: 7:10 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.
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