SAN FRANCISCO (Interstat) — Robbie Ray pitched six strong innings and the San Francisco Giants used a three-run seventh inning to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 on Friday night at Oracle Park.

Ray, who entered the game with a 2-4 record and a 4.50 ERA, allowed four hits and one earned run while striking out seven over six innings. The left-hander walked three but worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning and yielded only a solo home run in the second. He improved to 3-4 on the season.

The Giants, now 15-23, snapped a four-game losing streak and earned their second win in their last nine games. The Pirates fell to 21-18, ending a modest two-game winning streak.

Pittsburgh struck first in the top of the second inning when designated hitter Marcell Ozuna launched a solo home run to left field, his fourth of the season, off Ray. The Pirates added a run in the ninth but could not overcome a three-run deficit.

San Francisco answered immediately in the bottom of the second when first baseman Rafael Devers hit a solo homer to center field, his fourth of the year, tying the game 1-1. The Giants took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning on an RBI single by left fielder Heliot Ramos that scored Devers, who had singled earlier in the inning.

The game remained 2-1 until the seventh, when the Giants broke through against the Pittsburgh bullpen. Pirates starting pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski departed after six innings, having allowed seven hits and two earned runs with one strikeout. He took the loss and fell to 2-3.

Reliever Evan Sisk entered for the seventh and faced the heart of the Giants order. Shortstop Willy Adames led off with a single to center. Ramos followed with a double to right, putting runners at second and third. Center fielder Drew Gilbert then singled to right, scoring Adames and sending Ramos to third. Catcher Jesus Rodriguez was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Jung Hoo Lee, who lined out to second baseman Brandon Lowe.

With two outs, second baseman Luis Arraez delivered the decisive blow, a two-run single to right field that scored Ramos and Gilbert, extending the lead to 5-1. Arraez finished the night 1 for 4 with two RBIs.

The Pirates mounted a rally in the ninth against Giants reliever Caleb Kilian. Ozuna flied out to start the inning, but shortstop Oneil Cruz walked and center fielder Konnor Griffin also walked. First baseman Spencer Horwitz then singled to right, scoring Cruz and moving Griffin to third. But Lowe flied out to shortstop and pinch-hitter Ryan O’Hearn grounded out to third to end the game.

Pittsburgh managed only five hits total. Ozuna went 2 for 3 with a home run, an RBI and a walk. Cruz reached base twice on a single and a walk. The Pirates struck out 13 times and left seven runners on base.

San Francisco collected 12 hits, with Devers going 2 for 4 with a homer and an RBI. Ramos added two hits, including a double and an RBI. Adames had two singles. The Giants also drew one walk and struck out six times.

The game was played in 2 hours, 28 minutes before a crowd of 41,024 at Oracle Park.

Mlodzinski pitched effectively through six innings, allowing only two runs despite giving up seven hits. He struck out one and walked none. Sisk worked a third of an inning, allowing one hit and no earned runs with one strikeout. Cam Sanders pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out three.

For the Giants, Keaton Winn pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out one. Matt Gage tossed a scoreless eighth inning, allowing no hits. Kilian allowed one earned run on one hit in the ninth.

The most pivotal sequence occurred in the bottom of the seventh. After Mlodzinski departed, the Pirates bullpen could not contain the Giants lineup. Sisk entered and immediately surrendered a single and a double before Gilbert’s go-ahead single. Rodriguez was hit by a pitch, and after Lee’s lineout, Arraez delivered the two-out, two-run single that effectively put the game out of reach.

The Giants took advantage of Pittsburgh’s inability to generate sustained offense. Pirates hitters went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left four runners in scoring position. The Pirates had runners on base in the third, sixth and ninth innings but could not deliver a clutch hit.

Ozuna’s home run in the second gave the Pirates an early lead, but Ray settled in after that. He retired eight of nine batters following the homer, including a stretch where he struck out five of seven hitters.

Ray’s performance was a bounce-back effort after his previous start at Tampa Bay on May 1, where he allowed three earned runs over 6.1 innings in a 3-0 loss. He walked three and struck out five in that outing, but Friday he flashed the form that made him a Cy Young Award winner earlier in his career.

The Pirates had entered the game coming off a 4-2 win at Arizona on Thursday and had won two straight overall. They had posted a 7-3 record in their previous 10 games, including a series sweep of the Reds at home. But the Giants’ pitching and timely hitting proved too much.

San Francisco snapped a four-game skid and improved to 2-4 on a homestand that began with three games against San Diego. The Giants had lost eight of their previous nine games before Friday.

The two teams will meet again Saturday and Sunday in the second and third games of this four-game series. The Giants then travel to Los Angeles for a four-game set against the Dodgers, while the Pirates return home to host the Colorado Rockies.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Pittsburgh 4, San Francisco 2. Interstat’s ELO system had estimated San Francisco with a 52.20 percent probability to win. San Francisco had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 7 went over the over-under line of 7.5.