The Pittsburgh Pirates start a long, nine-game road trip that will end with the All-Star break and take on the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. J

Cal Raleigh hit his 34th and 35th home runs to set a career high and match Ken Griffey Jr.'s Seattle record for homers before the All-Star break, helping the Mariners beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 on Friday.

The Pirates are in a pretty terrible place as a franchise because they have an ownership group that completely refuses to invest in the team. The presence of Paul Skenes on their roster and a handful of other promising pitching prospects coming through the pipeline should be the opening of a competitive window,