Phenomenal pitching aids Pirates in 2-1 win over Marlins

Wil Crowe posted another quality start in the Pirates’ 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins Friday night, resulting in his fourth win of the season.

The 27-year-old held Miami’s offense to three hits and one earned run while striking out five over five innings pitched, paving the way for the bullpen to hold the slim lead through the final four frames.

Anthony Banda, Nick Mears and Chad Kuhl held the Marlins to one hit through the middle innings and Chris Stratton — despite allowing a lead-off triple to center fielder Bryan De La Cruz — struck out three hitters in the bottom of the ninth, sealing his sixth save this season.

Offensively, the Pirates had relative success, scoring once on a throwing error and again on a sacrifice fly by Cole Tucker in the sixth. Also contributing to the hitting column were Anthony Alford, who went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles; Yoshi Tsutsugo, who doubled on a bloop to left in the ninth; and Tucker, Hoy Park and Bryan Reynolds each collected a single.

With the win, the Pirates move to 55-92 on the season, meaning they need eight wins to prevent a 100-loss season. Both teams return to loanDepot Park tomorrow night at 6:10 p.m., with Bryse Wilson (2-7, 4.97 ERA) and Edward Cabrera (0-1, 6.61 ERA) slated to pitch.