The Los Angeles Angels defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4 Wednesday to avoid being swept. Pirates starting pitcher Chris Archer had held the Angels to one hit and six strikeouts into the fourth inning, but Los Angeles scored four runs in the fourth. They added another three runs in the seventh. Archer took the loss. He allowed three earned runs on five hits over five innings, striking out 10. His record fell to 3-9. Melky Cabrera had two of the Pirates six hits in the game.
The loss was the Bucs 70th of the season as they fell back to 20 games under .500 overall.
The Pirates are off today and will begin a 10-game homestand Friday. They host the Chicago Cubs Friday night and Saturday afternoon, then play in Williamsport Sunday evening.
Outfielder Jose Osuna began serving his five-game suspension Wednesday. Osuna was part of the Pirates brawl with Cincinnati.
The Pirates learned Wednesday that starting pitcher Jameson Taillon underwent Tommy John surgery Tuesday, for the second time in his career. He will not return to full competition until the 2021 season. The 27-year old Taillon was the number two overall pick in the 2010 draft, and underwent similar surgery in 2014. He made seven starts this season, going 2-3 with a 4.10 ERA.