Mlodzinski (6-4) took the loss Friday, coughing up five runs on seven hits and a walk over three innings as the Pirates were downed 6-4 by the Mets. He struck out one.
A three-run homer by Marcus Semien in the third inning was the big blow off Mlodzinski, who was making his first start since May 25. The right-hander did get stretched out to 63 pitches (40 strikes), and while he sports a 3.51 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 77:32 K:BB through 97.1 innings over 26 appearances (10 starts) on the year, he'll need better results to stick around in the rotation as the replacement for Mitch Keller (arm). Mlodzinski will get another chance to show he can handle the job on the road next week in Miami.