Bats go cold as Marlins lose to Pirates 3-1

The Miami Marlins dropped their second consecutive game in a 3-1 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday.

Jeff Locke (0-2) improved upon his last start against the Cubs with a solid 5.1 inning campaign at PNC Park versus the Pirates Sunday. He allowed three earned runs on eight hits while striking out three in a loss that saw the Marlins struggle to produce any run support.

Locke had a rough first inning, allowing two Pittsburgh runs that put Miami behind early. After retiring Adam Frazier and Josh Harrison, Locke allowed a Jose Osuna single to left that kept the inning going. David Freese then singled, advancing Osuna to third, and was followed by an Elias Diaz two-RBI double.

Locke then settled in over the next three innings, retiring 15 of the next 18 Pirates before allowing Diaz to record his second base hit of the game in the sixth inning. He would allow two more singles to load the bases before being taken out of the game. Brad Ziegler relieved Locke and allowed Jordy Mercer to single, extending the Pirates lead to 3-0.

Miami (27-35) would stay scoreless into the eighth inning when Ichiro Suzuki hit a leadoff solo home run off Daniel Hudson. That would end up being the lone bright spot for an overall disappointing day for the Marlins bats. J.T. Riddle, Christian Yelich and Dee Gordon recorded Miami’s other three hits but Ivan Nova and company shut the Marlins down throughout.

Miami has an off day Monday as they prepare for a two-game home set against the Oakland Athletics before battling the Atlanta Braves next weekend. Jose Urena will take the mound Tuesday evening for the Fish as they look to get back in the win column.