PITTSBURGH — There was some good, some bad and some in between for Yusei Kikuchi on Thursday.
Which more or less sums up his first season pitching in the major leagues, doesn’t it?
The 28-year-old left-hander from Japan allowed four earned runs on eight hits in four innings as the Mariners beat the Pirates, 6-5, in 11 innings to complete a three-game interleague sweep at PNC Park.
Shed Long went 3 for 4 with a walk, and Austin Nola drove in Long for the winning run in the 11th on a groundball double play.
All four runs Kikuchi allowed, and five of the eight hits (including four doubles) he surrendered, came in the second inning.