May 24 - No lead has been safe for the Pittsburgh Pirates as of late.
Pittsburgh has gone up by at least four in each of its past two games before ultimately losing -- a fate it will try to avoid on Friday in the opener of a three-game set with the visiting Atlanta Braves.
After seeing a 5-0 lead evaporate Wednesday in a 9-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants, the Pirates couldn't take advantage of 5-1 and 6-2 cushions on Thursday and ended up falling 7-6 in the rubber match of the three-game series.
Relievers have combined to surrender 12 runs (10 earned) across seven innings in those two losses, resulting in a 12.