SEATTLE — Manager Clint Hurdle and hitting coach Jeff Branson, like many viewers back home in Pittsburgh, didn’t stick around for long Tuesday night. They were ejected by home-plate umpire Ben May in the fifth inning and watched from the confines of the clubhouse as the Pirates added another data point to this ugly month of baseball with a 5-2 loss at Safeco Field.
The Seattle Mariners battered left-hander Jon Niese for nine hits and five runs, four earned, in 4 2/3 innings. The unearned run was on account of his own throwing error. His ERA crept north of 5.