They had to come from behind, but the Pittsburgh Pirates nonetheless edged the Houston Astros in the second game of the teams' four-game weekend set at Minute Maid Park by a final score of 6-5.
The Pirates would trail early, as starting pitcher Jeff Karstens surrendered six hits and four runs over the first five innings. But the Bucs would tack on two in the fifth, one in the seventh and two in the ninth to slide past the host Astros. Trailing by one run heading into the final inning, they pulled ahead on a wild pitch that scored pinch-runner Casey McGehee from third. Previously, rookie outfielder, Starling Marte who made his major-league debut Thursday, hit a sac fly to center that scored Jordy Mercer.
Joel Hanrahan would come on to record the save, his 31st of the season.
Game three is slated for Saturday at 7:05 p.m. EST. Pittsburgh has now won three straight contests.
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