The Texas Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park. Pirates starting pitcher Johan Oviedo allowed three runs in the first inning, including a home run to Rangers second baseman Trevor Semien. The Bucs scored twice in the bottom of the second inning, and the game remained scoreless after that.
Oviedo pitched what is known as an “Immaculate Inning” in the top of the fourth inning. He struck out all three batters he faced with the minimum nine pitches. He became the 112th major league pitcher to accomplish that feat since the statistic has been kept. There are now two Pirates pitchers to accomplish that this month, with reliever Colin Holderman doing the same on May 4th against Tampa Bay.
The Pirates are off today and will begin a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners Friday night.
Pirates starting pitcher Vince Velasquez will return from the injured list during their west coast road trip. He has been out with a strained elbow.
The Bucs are now two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers who took their series with Houston following a win yesterday. The Pirates are now 25-24 overall and yet to win a series in the month of May.