The Texas Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-6 Wednesday at PNC Park. The Bucs held a 6-2 lead into the eighth inning, when the Rangers rallied, producing seven runs off the Pirates bullpen in the final two innings. The big blow occurred when Michael Feliz allowed a grand slam home run to Hunter Pence that tied the game in the eighth. Tyler Lyons allowed three game-winning runs in the ninth.
Pirates starting pitcher Nick Kingham allowed two earned runs on three hits over four innings. Josh Bell hit his ninth home run of the season. Colin Moran had a pinch-hit home run. Bell, Melky Cabrera and Kevin Newman had two hits each.
The Pirates begin a seven-game road trip tonight in St. Louis. First pitch is 7:45pm. WISR pre-game is 7:20. Joe Musgrove will start for the Bucs. Michael Wacha will start for the Cardinals.
The loss dropped the Pirates to 17-16 and 3-1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs. St. Louis enters the night 21-16 and 1-1/2 games back.