Nationals 5, Pirates 4: Tyler Moore drove in Ryan Zimmerman with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning as visiting Washington downed Pittsburgh to collect its third win in the last four games.
Tony Watson (1-1) struck out Bryce Harper to open the ninth, but Zimmerman reached base after the reliever hit him with a pitch. Adam LaRoche followed with a single and both runners moved up a base on a double steal, allowing Zimmerman to score on Washington’s third sacrifice fly of the game.
Tyler Clippard (2-1) yielded Andrew McCutchen's single in the eighth, but escaped further damage when Garrett Jones lined into an inning-ending double play. Rafael Soriano gave up a leadoff single in the ninth to Russell Martin, but Martin was thrown out trying to take second and Soriano nailed down his 10th save.
Ian Desmond put Washington on the board in the third with a sacrifice fly, but Starling Marte gave Pittsburgh a short-lived lead with his third homer in four games – a two-run shot – in the third inning. LaRoche delivered the Nationals’ second sacrifice fly to tie it in the fourth.
Clint Barmes added a two-run home run in the fifth off Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg in the fifth to give the Pirates a 4-2 edge. Wilson Ramos evened it up with a two-run single in the sixth when he tallied the Nationals’ only hit with runners in scoring position.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Pittsburgh has homered in 14 of its last 16 games, including 16 times over the last six games. … Strasburg matched season highs in innings (seven) and strikeouts (eight). Washington ended its five-game losing streak in his starts. … The Nationals scored at least five runs for only the third time in the last 10 games.
Washington | Pittsburgh | |
Stephen Strasburg | Player | Jeff Locke |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
7.0 | IP | 5.0 |
8 | Strikeouts | 3 |
5 | Hits | 3 |
5.14 | ERA | 5.40 |
Washington | Pittsburgh | |
Adam LaRoche | Player | Clint Barmes |
1 | Hits | 2 |
1 | RBI | 2 |
0 | HR | 1 |
1 | TB | 5 |
1.000 | Avg | .667 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Washington | 6 | 0 | 9 | .194 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
Pittsburgh | 7 | 2 | 13 | .233 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |