Pittsburgh needed only one swing to set the tone. Brandon Lowe's home run to right center in the first inning gave the Pirates a lead they never surrendered, and the offense kept adding to it in a controlled 5-1 win over Seattle at PNC Park.
Henry Davis was the game's most productive bat, going 2-for-3 with a home run and 2 RBI. His two-run shot to right center in the third — with Jared Triolo scoring on the play — pushed Pittsburgh's lead to 3-0. Lowe finished 2-for-4 with a home run, 2 RBI, and a single in the eighth that scored Davis to make it 4-1. Lowe carries a .253 average with 19 home runs and 51 RBI on the season, and he is 3 away from 500 career RBI.
The Pirates added a fifth run in the eighth when Bryan Reynolds scored on a single by Ryan O'Hearn. Pittsburgh's offense built its advantage early and protected it late, leaving Seattle with little room to work.
Bubba Chandler earned the win, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing 1 run on 5 hits with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts. He is now 3-7 with a 4.42 ERA. Bryce Miller took the loss for Seattle, striking out 11 over 5.2 innings but allowing 3 runs on 5 hits. He falls to 3-2 with a 1.97 ERA. Seattle's only run came in the fifth, when J.P. Crawford singled to right to score Mitch Garver.
Pittsburgh moved to 40-40 with the victory. Seattle, the AL West's division leader at 41-40, dropped its first game after a win. Crawford is 6 games away from 1,000 career games played and 2 runs away from 500 career runs scored.