. Gutierrez advanced to second on a wild pitch then came around to score on Cano's third hit.'' It really started it all. Two out, nobody on and a walk. Amazing how that works,'' Servais said. ''We talk about it, it's really what we did a lot earlier in the season and I think this whole homestand has been better.'' Cruz then followed with a line shot just fair down the line. It was his 11th homer this season off a left-hander, and Cruz became the only current player with at least 20 home runs in every season since 2009. David Ortiz and Brian McCann can also reach that mark this season.'' It's just being able to play a lot of games,'' Cruz said. ''It's how you put the numbers (up). You don't just throw it out there. You have to play games to be able to put up numbers. You're thinking as a player how to stay healthy and play as many games.'' Niese didn't make it out of the fifth for his shortest outing of the season.'' I thought I had some pretty good stuff early, just at the end everything went flat,'' Niese said. Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma (7-6) took a shutout into the seventh inning before giving up a pair of runs. Iwakuma has pitched into the seventh in six of his past seven starts. Without his normally sharp splitter, the veteran relied heavily on a slow curveball that kept Pittsburgh off-balance.'' Chris (Iannetta) had a lot of confidence in it in the bullpen. He called it a lot, I didn't shake and it worked out well,'' Iwakuma said through an interpreter. Iwakuma was nearly perfect through the sixth, facing just one batter over the minimum and allowing two hits. He ran into trouble in the seventh, beginning with Gregory Polanco's leadoff double. Polanco scored on Starling Marte's triple to deep right-center field, and Marte scored on David Freese's two-out single. Iwakuma was lifted after giving up a base hit to Adam Frazier, the fourth hit of the inning. Edwin Diaz got out of the jam in the seventh and pitched a perfect eighth. Steve Cishek pitched the ninth for his 18th save. SEE YA!Pittsburgh hitting coach Jeff Branson was ejected by home plate umpire Ben May arguing a strike call on the first pitch of the fifth inning. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle soon followed, getting ejected after a brief argument with May after Branson had been tossed.'' I didn't think it was warranted, so once he threw (Branson) I went out and let him know that this was a little continuation of what we've been dealing with too much,'' Hurdle said. TRAINER'S ROOMPirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (triceps strain) threw a 35-pitch bullpen on Tuesday and threw fastballs and off-speed pitches. Cole threw just 15 pitches in his last bullpen session, all fastballs. Mariners: RHP Felix Hernandez threw 25 pitches off a mound for the first time since going on the disabled list with a strained calf. Manager Scott Servais said Hernandez didn't feel any discomfort but there is no timeline yet on a possible return. ... LHP Charlie Furbush threw a 35-pitch bullpen session and is scheduled to throw to hitters on Saturday. UP NEXT:Pirates: Jameson Taillon (1-1) makes his fifth career start on Wednesday. He's allowed eight earned runs in eight innings over his past two starts. Mariners: Wade Miley (6-3) returns after missing two weeks. Miley's last start came on June 12 when he lost against Texas. Miley was placed on the disabled list with an impingement in his left shoulder.
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Time: 10:10 P.M. EST Venue: Safeco Field
SEATTLE -- Misery loves company. Two teams with dying pennant aspirations will meet at Safeco Field under similar circumstances Tuesday night. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners have fallen from baseball's elite and are just trying to stay afloat in the playoff race. The Pirates (37-40) were trying to keep pace with the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs, baseball's hottest team, through April and May and were doing a decent job of weathering the storm. The Pirates were in position to make a run at the end of May, but they've since fallen three games under .500. Monday afternoon's loss to the Dodgers left Pittsburgh with an 8-18 record in June. The Pirates featured one of the best offenses in baseball through the opening month of the season but have since fallen on hard times. Yet, they feel like they're not that far removed from the team that opened the season with four consecutive wins and closed out the month of April with a six-game winning streak." I don't know if we're getting the big hit like we were in April or May," shortstop Jordy Mercer told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette over the weekend, "but we're still putting good at-bats up." Situational hitting has been a big part of the Pirates' struggles, but the starting rotation has probably been the most glaring issue. Pittsburgh ranks second-to-the-last in the NL in both ERA (5.57) and opponent's batting average (.285) during games played in June. Seattle (38-38) has its own set of pitching problems heading into the series. The starting rotation went through its most recent cycle without three of the five starters, while ace Felix Hernandez continues to be sidelined by a leg injury. The over-taxed bullpen subsequently has fallen apart, leading a spate of roster moves over the weekend to bring in fresh arms. The good news for both teams is that help could be on the way. Seattle starter Wade Miley is expected back from the disabled list to start Wednesday's game against the Pirates, while Taijuan Walker (sore foot) might not be far behind. Walker could be on the mound as soon as Thursday night, for the start of the Baltimore series. And manager Scott Servais sounded as encouraged about Hernandez's return as he had in a while." He's starting to map out his plan (to return)," Servais told reporters before Saturday night's win. "That's always a good thing." The Pirates got an encouraging sign over the weekend as well, with staff ace Gerrit Cole throwing from the mound for the first time in two weeks. Cole is recovering from a strained triceps, although there is still no hard timetable for his return." He's a competitor," pitching coach Ray Searage told The Post-Gazette. "He's itching to get back out there." Left-hander Jonathan Niese, who is 0-3 over his past three starts, is scheduled to take the mound for the Pirates. The Mariners will go with struggling veteran Hisashi Iwakuma, who has served up three home runs in three of his past five starts. The Mariners have gone 8-17 in June after spending most of May atop the American League West standings. Texas continues to lead the AL West and the Houston Astros have gotten hot to move ahead of Seattle in the standings.
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