Pirates Fall to Nationals in Series Opener; Another Rough Start for Mitch Keller
WASHINGTON — The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped the first of their three-game road series with the Washington Nationals 9-5 on Friday after another shaky night from Mitch Keller, who allowed three home runs in the loss. The Pirates (44-45) didn’t get things going offensively until it was too late.
Scoring Plays
Bottom 1st, 1-0 WSH: The Nationals (46-43) drew first blood on a one-out home run from first baseman Luis García Jr.
Bottom 2nd, 2-0 WSH: Daylen Lile stung Mitch Keller (6-6) for another home run, this one to center field.
Top 3rd, 2-1 WSH: Bryan Reynolds joined the homer party in the third inning, leaving the ballpark at 109.8 miles per hour.
Bottom 3rd, 5-1 WSH: The Pirates didn’t generate any positive momentum from Reynolds’ homer. James Wood tripled to begin the home half of the inning, then José Tena crushed a homer 434 feet to center. CJ Abrams singled, stole second, then traded places with Lile on an RBI double.
Bottom 7th, 7-1 WSH: Luis García Jr. hit his second homer of the game, giving the Nationals a lopsided lead.
Bottom 8th, 9-1 WSH: The Nationals kept their foot on the gas in the ninth, Lile tacking on another home run. Utility man Tyler Callihan took the mound with the game out of reach, loading the bases but getting Pittsburgh out of the inning.
Top 9th, 9-5 WSH: Jared Triolo, Brandon Lowe, Bryan Reynolds, Esmerlyn Valdez and Nick Gonzales doubled in the ninth, adding four late runs.
Key Moment
The Pirates loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh against former Bucco Justin Lawrence. Bryan Reynolds came to the plate as the tying run but struck out swinging after taking a 2-1 lead. García’s homer in the home half of the inning put the game out of reach.
Player of the Game
Luis García Jr., who went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs.
Stat to Know
With his homer off left-hander Foster Griffin tonight, Bryan Reynolds has six home runs from each side of the plate this season.
Notable Performances
- Mitch Keller: 6 IP, 5 ER, 1 K
- Bryan Reynolds: 2-for-5 with a double and a homer
- Konnor Griffin: 2-for-4 with a walk
- Jared Triolo: 2-for-4 with two doubles
- Esmerlyn Valdez: 3-for-5 with a double
Noteworthy
- Nationals Park is the only MLB stadium in which Bryan Reynolds’ third inning homer would’ve left the yard.
- Reynolds entered play with a career .362 batting average at Nationals Park, logging seven doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI across 15 games played.
- Mitch Keller’s ERA sits at 7.50 over his last seven starts (36 IP, 28 K’s, 30 ER).
- Esmerlyn Valdez pushed his hitting streak to eight games with a pair of singles. He’s batting .500 (19 for 38) with 11 RBI over his last 10 games.
- Jake Mangum has had multiple hits in three straight games, the first time he’s done that in his career.
Up Next
The Pirates will continue their series with Washington at 11:05 a.m. on Saturday, July 4. Braxton Ashcraft (8-3, 3.33 ERA, 115 SO) will duel Nationals’ right-hander Zack Littell (7-6, 5.29 ERA, 49 SO).
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