PITTSBURGH -- Missing a turn in the starting rotation wasn't a problem for Francisco Liriano.

The left-hander pitched six strong innings on 10 days of rest and center fielder Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Washington Nationals 7-3 on Thursday night.

Liriano (6-6) struck out 11 while allowing one run and three hits. He walked three after being scratched with a stiff neck last Saturday just moments before he was to face the Brewers in Milwaukee.

Despite not pitching since July 12, he made things look simple.

"Just glad to get out there again and try and help the team win some ballgames," Liriano said.

Liriano had nine strikeouts in the first four innings and he fielded ground balls for the other three outs.

In his last five starts, Liriano is 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA.

"It was fun to watch," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "I can't remember a game through four innings where the only people that played were the pitcher, the catcher and the first baseman."

McCutchen's 13th homer of the season came in the seventh inning off reliever Tanner Roark to extend the lead to 6-1 and give the Pirates just their second win in seven games since the All-Star break.

Pittsburgh (55-40) won for the ninth time in its last 10 games at PNC Park, where it is 33-16, and snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Nationals.

McCutchen is hitting .323 in 48 home games this season, compared with .262 in 44 games on the road. He had been 3-for-31 in his last nine games against the Nationals.

"Waiting on some good pitches to hit and when we got'em, we hit'em," McCutchen said. "We haven't been getting those pitches of late, I mean when we got them, we haven't hit them."

First baseman Pedro Alvarez homered and had two RBIs for the Pirates and catcher Francisco Cervelli also went deep after missing the previous two games with a bruised right wrist.

Cervelli's solo shot, his fifth homer of the season, came in the eighth off rookie reliever Abel de los Santos and closed the scoring.

Pirates rookie shortstop Jung Ho Kang had two doubles and left fielder Starling Marte had an RBI triple among his two hits.

Kang extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He is 17-for-37 (.459) with nine RBIs during that span, raising his batting average to .289. Marte is 10-for-17 (.588) in his last four games.

"Hitting is contagious, that's for sure," McCutchen said. "You see guys hitting up there, you get confidence you can get up there and do it yourself."

The Pirates extended their lead in their lead to 3 1/2 games in the National League wild-card race but remained six games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.

Washington right-hander Doug Fister (3-6) had his road woes continue as he allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings with no walks and six strikeouts. Fister is 1-4 with a 5.46 ERA in six starts away from home this season.

"It's inexcusable," said Feister, who is three games under .500 for the first time since 2012. "Messing up too many pitches. I'm leaving them over the plate. I'm not going for the right pitches at the right time and that's on me. I'm kind of going with my second or third best pitch and I just need to kind of reevaluate myself."

Nationals manager Matt Williams believes Fister's inability to control his sinking fastball is at the root of his problems.

"He needs to get on top of the baseball and turn the hand over to get it to sink," Williams said. "For some reason he's just not feeling it. He hasn't felt it."

The Nationals (51-43) were hitless in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position but maintained a three-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League Central.

Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond had two hits, including a two-run homer off Pirates reliever Arquimedes Caminero in the ninth inning, his ninth home run of the season and 100th of his career. Desmond is 7-for-13 (.538) in his last four games.

The Pirates took a 2-0 lead on Marte's RBI triple in the first inning and Alvarez's 13th homer in the second.

The Nationals got their run in the fifth when left fielder Clint Robinson scored on a wild pitch.

The Pirates moved ahead 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Kang doubled home a run and scored on a groundout by Alvarez.

NOTES: The Pirates acquired 3B Aramis Ramirez from the Milwaukee Brewers for Triple-A Indianapolis RHP Yhonathan Barrios. Ramirez is expected to join the Pirates for the Saturday game against the Nationals and serve as the regular third baseman with 3B Josh Harrison (torn left thumb ligament) out through at least the end of August. ... Nationals INF Yunel Escobar underwent a CT scan that showed no structural damage to his left wrist and hand. Escboar left Wednesday's win over the New York Mets when he felt pain after swinging at a pitch. He did not play Thursday. ... The second game of the four-game series is Friday, with Nationals RHP Max Scherzer (10-8, 2.09 ERA) facing Pirates LHP Jeff Locke (5-6, 4.01). Scherzer pitched a no-hitter against the Pirates on June 20 at Washington.