Back to Reality: Pirates’ Offense Shut Down and Shut Out by Nats
PITTSBURGH — The magic the Phiten necklaces provided the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night wore off as the offense came back to earth on Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals.
For the second time in three games, the Pirates were blanked, falling 3-0 to the Nats at PNC Park.
How We Got Here
James Wood led off the game with a 445-foot blast to center field for his sixth home run of the season.
Pirates starter Mitch Keller (1-2) managed to keep the Nationals (7-10) off the board until the sixth inning. With two outs, Keller hit Paul DeJong in the face with a 92.7 mph fastball. DeJong was replaced on the bases by Amed Rosario. After a two-out hit and stolen base from Dylan Crews, Nasim Nuñez broke his bat and dumped a two-run single into center field.
Jake Irvin, Jose A. Ferrer and Kyle Finnegan contributed in the shutout and didn’t allow a runner to reach third base. Finnegan recorded his sixth save of the season.
Key Moment
The Pirates (6-12) were at least within striking distance in a 1-0 deficit, but Nuñez’s two-run bloop single proved to be a back-breaker.
Star of the Game
Jake Irvin (1-0) scattered three singles in 7.0 shutout innings. He walked one batter and struck out six. It was his longest outing of the season and the fifth time in 61 career starts he’s gone at least 7.0 innings.
Notable Pirates’ Performances
- Mitch Keller: 6.0 innings, six hits, three runs, two walks, three strikeouts, 105 pitches/67 strikes
- Jack Suwinski: 2 for 4
- Tommy Pham: 1 for 2, one walk
Stat to Know
A day after collecting a season-high 14 hits in 31 at-bats (.452 batting average), the Pirates went just 4 for 31 (.129).
Noteworthy
- Jack Suwinski recorded his first multi-hit game since last year on July 23 against the Cardinals.
- The Pirates placed C Endy Rodríguez on the 10-day injured list with a right hand laceration. RHP Chase Shugart was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. Additionally, C Abraham Gutierrez was added to the taxi squad.
Up Next
LHP Bailey Falter (0-2, 7.20 ERA) will look for his first win of the season on Wednesday night. LHP Mitchell Parker (2-0, 1.96 ERA) will start for the Nationals. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET.
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