The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Seattle Mariners 5-1 at PNC Park on June 25, 2026, and the result sealed the series for Pittsburgh. For Seattle, it was another night when the lineup could not turn traffic on the bases into enough runs to matter.
The game belonged to Bubba Chandler, the 23-year-old Pirates rookie right-hander who sat at 98-99 mph and still found ways through contact. He allowed five hits and three walks, but he kept the Mariners from building anything lasting, even when they loaded the bases and had a chance to change the shape of the game. Seattle went 1-10 with runners in scoring position, a line that matched the way the night felt: a few chances, no finishing touch.
That is why this one landed hard on Thursday. The Mariners extended their run of scoring three or fewer runs to two full weeks, and the numbers behind their struggles were already ugly before first pitch. They entered the day with a.226 batting average with runners in scoring position, the third-worst mark in MLB, and 212 RBI in those spots, the fourth-fewest. They also carried a 105 wRC+ with runners in scoring position, which was above average, but it did not hide a.315 weighted on-base average that sat in the middle of the pack or the worst MLB BABIP in those situations at.254. In plain terms, Seattle had not been getting enough hits when it mattered, and too many of its opportunities were disappearing before they could turn into damage.
The fourth inning showed both sides of that problem. Julio Rodríguez singled, Josh Naylor reached base and Luke Raley walked, then Cole Young hit a ball 100 mph that looked like it should find grass. Jake Mangum erased it with a sliding catch in left center, and the inning slipped away. Chandler had to work through hard contact and still kept the Mariners from cashing in, while Bryce Miller and Alex Hoppe did not get enough support behind them to change the result.
The night also tied the game to a wider history that still fits the setting. The Pirates and Seattle were playing on the 105th anniversary of the first radio broadcast of a baseball game, a call made by Harold Arlin on KDKA from Forbes Field in Philadelphia. KDKA was the first licensed radio station in the United States, and the anniversary added a little extra weight to a game that already had enough of its own. Seattle left PNC Park with another quiet score line and the same unresolved question that has followed it for two weeks: how long can a lineup keep surviving on chances that do not cash in?
