For the first time in 13 days, the Pittsburgh Pirates got back into the win column with a 5-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night at PNC Park.

Now, Pittsburgh will look to make it two wins in a row in the second game of their three-game series against Seattle on Saturday.

Pittsburgh was riding an abysmal 10-game losing streak before Friday. Pirates ace Paul Skenes lived up to the billing, working around four walks to pitch six innings, allow three hits, two runs and he struck out six batters to earn his first win since July 11. After allowing a solo lead-off home run to Jorge Polanco in the ninth inning, Pirates closer David Bednar struck out the side, including Mitch Haniger, who was the potential game-tying run, to end the game.

The save was Bednar’s 21st of the season and his first since the Pirates’ 4-2 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 3.

Offensively, the Pirates got key contributions from Yasmani Grandal, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, Andrew McCutchen and Oneil Cruz. Kiner-Falefa, Grandal and McCutchen each had one RBI apiece and a two-run double from Cruz extended the Pirates’ lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Cruz and McCutchen were forced to exit Friday’s game early. The team announced McCutchen was dealing with left knee discomfort and Cruz had discomfort in his left ankle. There haven’t been any further updates on their statuses heading into Saturday’s matchup.

Pittsburgh will have left-hander Bailey Falter on the mound on Saturday afternoon. Falter is 5-7 with a 4.07 ERA and pitched four innings, allowing four runs in his last outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. Seattle will counter with one of the game’s best pitchers, Luis Castillo. Castillo is 10-11 with a 3.40 ERA and has struck out 148 batters this season.

Pirates vs. Mariners Broadcast Info

Location: PNC Park
Records: Pirates 57-63, Mariners 63-60
First pitch: 1:05 p.m. ET
TV: Pirates – SportsNet-PIT — Mariners – ROOTNW — National – MLB Network (out-of-market only)
Radio: Pirates – KDKA-FM 93.7 — Mariners – KIRO 710, KTTH 770

Pirates vs. Mariners Betting Odds via SI Sportsbook

Spread: Mariners -1.5 (-137), Pirates +1.5 (+110)
Total: Over 8.5 (-118), under 8.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Mariners -154, Pirates +125

Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A cat was reunited with his family after he vanished nearly a year ago. 

The reunion happened at Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh on Thursday night, all because the bold kitty was microchipped, and it just happened to be National Check the Chip Day.

The cat, named Juni, has quite a tale to tell.  

The family had just moved from Colorado to Pittsburgh, and when they got to their new home, their sneaky grey feline bolted from the car.

“The family just gets to Pittsburgh, and the cat escapes, and they had almost given up hope that they would ever be reconnected,” said Michele Frennier, HARP’s marketing director.

Frennier said the family desperately searched, and another family took Juni in after the escape artist with whiskers showed up on their porch.

“It seems that he was close by, maybe about nine miles away from where the family had moved to where this new family had found him. Taking him in, he was kind of hanging around, so he was well taken care of. After about six to eight months, things weren’t working out. Other cats they had in the home were not getting along. So, they made the decision to surrender him to HARP,” she said.

Juni was in luck when he arrived at HARP. Frennier said they scanned the mysterious cat to find out if he had a microchip, and his true identity was revealed.

“They reached out to the owner that was registered on the microchip, and as they say, the rest is history,” Frennier said.

She said this heartwarming reunion is an important reminder to get your pets microchipped. She said a collar with a tag isn’t always reliable. The permanent identification is implanted under the skin, it’s painless, and doesn’t cost a lot.

“If that pet escapes, something happens, they slip out of that collar. That microchip is there, and, you know, veterinarian offices have them, police stations have them, animal control has them. It’s a very simple way to try and get those pets back to the owners they love,” Frennier said.

That tiny chip made this reunion possible, which was the perfect ending to Juni’s adventurous story.

All pets adopted from HARP are microchipped. Microchipping is available at HARP’s medical center. It costs $30. They also provide chips at low-cost vaccine clinics. 

Learn more and how to contact HARP here.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Tre Norwood is signing with the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League, the league announced on Friday. This is the first time that Norwood has resurfaced since joining the Buffalo Bills in 2023.

However, Norwood has not been in an NFL training camp this year and has seemingly drawn little interest from teams, which has left him no choice but to pursue to the UFL as an alternative.

Norwood, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ seventh-round draft pick in 2021, stayed with the team from 2021 to 2022 as one of their reserve safeties and special teamers. However, a calf injury during the team’s 2023 training camp doomed Norwood’s roster spot.

Instead, Norwood was released and joined the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad. Later, he would try out for several teams before joining the Bills. Yet, the Bills did not renew his contract at the season’s end, making him a free agent.

Norwood, 25, has 61 tackles and one interception in hi career. Throughout his NFL career, Norwood has made his name off making plays with his football IQ rather than athleticism. At 5-foot-11 with a 4.57 40-yard dash, Norwood never had elite size or athleticism and made up for it with his versatility and football IQ. Now, he hopes those same qualities will get him back into the NFL, potentially after showing out in the UFL.