SEATTLE — Clint Hurdle speaks with great appreciation for what Sean Rodriguez brings defensively, playing wherever Pittsburgh needs him to be in the field.

It was his bat, though, that carried the Pirates on Wednesday night.

“He’s as good a defender as I’ve run across wherever you put him. ... He’s a gifted defender and he’s having one of his better offensive seasons so far this half,” Hurdle said.

Rodriguez doubled in consecutive at-bats and drove in four runs, David Freese hit a solo home run and Pittsburgh beat the Seattle Mariners 8-1 to split a two-game interleague series.

Rodriguez was responsible for breaking the game open in the fifth inning with a three-run double into the left-field corner off Seattle reliever Donn Roach. Rodriguez doubled an inning earlier off starter Wade Miley (6-4) to score Starling Marte.

Freese got it all started with a solo home run on the first pitch of the second inning. It was a three-run inning for Pittsburgh, capped by a two-run double from Josh Harrison.

All that offense backed a strong start from rookie right-hander Jameson Taillon, who pitched six innings, giving up just one run and six hits. Making his fifth career start, Taillon (2-1) overcame a shaky first inning and retired 10 straight at one point. He struck out six and didn’t allow a walk.

Taillon made some adjustments from his last start against the Dodgers when he was knocked out after four innings and giving up eight hits and four runs. His curveball was sharp, and Taillon relied more on his sinking fastball that had a number of Seattle hitters swinging over the top.

Hurdle thought Taillon’s final four pitches to get Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager to finish off the sixth inning with two runners on might have been his best.

“Even though the game is 8-1, I don’t want to give up those runs,” Taillon said. “I wanted to really put the foot on the gas there and set the tone still. I knew I was close to being done so I let them eat and was aggressive with them.”

Miley was making his first start since June 12 after a brief stint on the disabled list due to an impingement in his left shoulder. He was lucky to make it through the fourth, leaving pitches up in the strike zone and watching them get hit hard.

“A lot of mistakes up over the plate and he had a hard time getting in rhythm with any of his pitches,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.

Freese’s opposite-field home run into the first row down the right-field line was just the start. Rodriguez’s double in the fourth gave Pittsburgh a 4-0 lead, and he scored on Jordy Mercer’s sharp single. Roach took over in the fifth and was greeted by consecutive one-out singles by Freese and Jung Ho Kang. Marte walked and Rodriguez’s hard shot just inside third base bounced into the corner and allowed all three runners to score.

Rodriguez doubled his RBI output for the entire month of June entering the game. Between June 1 and June 23, Rodriguez appeared in 21 games without an RBI.