PITTSBURGH (Interstat) — Bubba Chandler pitched 5 1/3 strong innings and Henry Davis homered and drove in two runs Thursday afternoon as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Seattle Mariners 5-1 at PNC Park before 24,367 fans.

The game took 2 hours 35 minutes.

Pittsburgh improved to 41-40 with the win, moving a game over .500 for the first time since early June. Seattle fell to 41-41, dropping back to the break-even mark after a lopsided 11-1 loss to the Pirates the previous day.

Chandler, a right-hander, allowed one earned run on five hits while striking out four and walking two. He earned his third win of the season against seven losses. Chandler worked around trouble in the early innings and got key outs with runners in scoring position.

Seattle’s Bryce Miller took the loss, his second against three wins. Miller pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out 11. He walked one and threw 58 of his 84 pitches for balls, a number that reflected his command struggles despite the high strikeout total.

The most critical sequence of the game occurred in the bottom of the third inning. With the score tied 1-1, Pirates shortstop Jared Triolo led off with a line-drive single to right field off Miller. Davis followed by crushing a 1-0 fastball over the right-center field wall for a two-run homer, his sixth of the season. The blast gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead and proved decisive as the Mariners could only manage one run the rest of the way.

Davis finished the day 2 for 3 with the home run and two RBIs. His opposite-field shot in the third was the pivotal moment, shifting momentum firmly to the Pirates’ dugout after Seattle had tied the game in the top of the inning on a bases-loaded walk.

The Mariners’ only run came in the fifth inning. Mitch Garver led off with a walk, and Colt Emerson also walked. J.P. Crawford then singled to right field, scoring Garver and moving Emerson to third. But the rally stalled when Cal Raleigh struck out and Julio Rodríguez grounded into a double play, third baseman Nick Gonzales to second baseman Tyler Callihan to first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, ending the threat.

Pittsburgh added two insurance runs in the eighth inning off the Seattle bullpen. Davis led off with a double to left field. After a strikeout, Brandon Lowe singled to center to score Davis. Lowe, the designated hitter, went 2 for 4 with the RBI single and a solo home run in the first inning. He homered for the 19th time this season to open the scoring. Later in the eighth, Bryan Reynolds walked, and after a forceout, Ryan O’Hearn singled to right, scoring Reynolds to make it 5-1.

Seattle’s bullpen held the line for the most part. Gabe Speier retired the only batter he faced in the eighth. Eduard Bazardo pitched a scoreless seventh with one strikeout. But the eighth-inning damage was charged to Speier and reliever Joey Gerber, who did not record an out.

The Pirates bullpen was effective after Chandler departed. Mason Montgomery pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings with two strikeouts. Gregory Soto worked a scoreless seventh with one strikeout. Evan Sisk allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth. Yohan Ramírez retired the only batter he faced in the ninth to close the game.

Seattle out-hit Pittsburgh 6-8 but stranded eight runners, including five in scoring position. The Mariners struck out 13 times as a team, with Chandler and his relievers combining for 21 strikeouts, 28 balls and 21 balls in play. Seattle pitchers finished with 13 strikes, 58 balls and 13 balls in play, a reflection of the control issues that plagued Miller.

The game began with a solo home run from Lowe off Miller on the first pitch of the at-bat. Lowe’s blast to right-center field in the bottom of the first put the Pirates ahead 1-0. The Mariners responded with a double by Cal Raleigh in the top of the first but could not score.

Seattle threatened again in the fourth but came up empty. Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor hit consecutive singles with one out, but Randy Arozarena flied out and Luke Raley walked to load the bases. Cole Young lined out to center field to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth, Seattle put runners at first and second with one out on a single by Arozarena and a single by Raley. But Young grounded into a forceout, and Garver was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Emerson grounded into another forceout to end the threat.

The Mariners had one last chance in the seventh when they loaded the bases with two outs on walks to Raleigh, Naylor and Arozarena. Pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder flied out to left field.

Miller’s outing ended in the sixth after he struck out Lowe and Reynolds to start the inning, but then allowed a single to Gonzales and a flyout to O’Hearn. He threw 84 pitches, 26 for strikes.

The game was the third in a four-game series between the two teams. Pittsburgh won the series opener 11-1 on Wednesday, after Seattle took the first game 3-2 on Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Seattle 5, Pittsburgh 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Seattle a 52.20 percent probability to win. Seattle was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of six runs went over the over-under line of 8.5.