Gerrit Cole pitches complete Game in Pirates Win over Mariners

Gerrit Cole #45 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning during inter-league play against the Seattle Mariners on July 27, 2016 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(July 27, 2016 - Source: Joe Sargent/Getty Images North America)

SP Gerrit Cole pitches a complete game as the Pittsburgh Pirates thrash the Seattle Mariners 10-1 in the second contest of their two-game series.

The Pirates set the foundation for their win in the third inning. 2B Josh Harrison hit a leadoff triple that seemed to inspire his teammates. SS Jordy Mercer doubled with one out and drove in Josh Harrison for a 1-0 lead.

1B David Freese followed with an infield single and CF Andrew McCutchen doubled to drive Jordy Mercer home. David Freese advanced to third base on the play.

Pittsburgh went on to load the bases after LF Starling Marte was hit by a pitch. 3B Jung-ho Kang drew a walk and David Freese crossed home plate to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead.

Seattle scored their only run in the sixth. LF Nori Aoki doubled to lead off the inning and 2B Robinson Cano hit a one-out sacrifice flyball to drive him in.

The Pirates put the game out of reach in the seventh inning. They loaded the bases with back-to-back singles by Gerrit Cole and Jordy Mercer and a one-out base hit from Andrew McCutchen.

Starling Marte drew a walk, bringing home Gerrit Cole for Pittsburgh’s fourth run of the game. Jung-ho Kang followed with a bases-clearing double to give the Pirates a 7-1 lead.

The Pirates weren’t done yet. With two outs in the eighth, Jordy Mercer singled and David Freese walked. Andrew McCutchen followed with his 15th home run of the season to put Pittsburgh up 10-1.

Seattle’s SP James Paxton (3-5) pitched 5 innings, giving up 6 hits, 1 walk and 3 earned runs while fanning 6. He now has a 4.27 ERA with a 1.50 WHIP on the season.

Gerrit Cole (6-6) ended up throwing 93 pitches, allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 6. His ERA and WHIP improved to 2.78 and 1.25, respectively.

Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-5 with 2 runs, 1 HR and 4 RBI. He is batting .246 on the season and has 56 runs, 15 HR and 42 RBI.

The Seattle Mariners (51-49) continue their road trip with a three-game series at the Chicago Cubs (60-40) from Friday to Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Pirates (52-48) travel to the Milwaukee Brewers (43-56) to play a three-game series from Friday through Sunday.