Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher James McDonald saw his second-half struggles continue, as he walked seven batters in five innings as the Pirates lost 9-5 to the lowly Houston Astros on Sunday. McDonald allowed five runs on six hits while striking out five.

Kevin Correia didn't fare much better in his bullpen debut, allowing four runs in two innings, including a three-run double to Marwin Gonzalez in the seventh inning that put the game away.

The Pirates took their only lead of the day briefly in the top of the fourth when Garrett Jones hit a mammouth two-run home run to put the Pirates up 2-1 in the fourth. The Astros then answered with five unanswered runs. Other offensive highlights included Pedro Alvarez going 2-for-3 while Starling Marte went 2-for-5.

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