Errors haunt Pirates in loss to Nationals in 1st game of doubleheader

PITTSBURGH — For the third time this week, Derek Shelton’s Pirates entered the seventh inning of a game looking for their first hit.

And while a pair of knocks against the Nationals bullpen prevented embarrassment similar to what the team experienced Wednesday at Wrigley field, their sluggish day at the plate was still too much to overcome, losing to Washington by a final score of 5-3 in the first game of a doubleheader at PNC Park.

Nationals starter DJ Herz kept the Pirates bats under control, allowing just three walks and striking out five over his five hitless innings of work. Hertz then turned the ball over to Robert Garcia, who preserved the no-hit effort for another five outs until Nick Gonzales spoiled the bid with a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh.

Rowdy Tellez followed Gonzales’ single with a pinch-hit, two-run homer that reached the Allegheny River on a hop. The blast was his 13th of the season and came against Jacob Barnes, who replaced Garcia after Gonzales’ single. Gonzales struck again in the ninth, singling home Joey Bart to make the score 5-3. Pittsburgh had an opportunity to tie the contest later that frame, but Bryan De La Cruz bounced into a double play with the bases loaded to end the game.

Pirates starter Luis Ortiz was the game’s losing pitcher. He entered the contest having pitched 15 straight scoreless innings, but Nationals rookie Dylan Crews broke Ortiz’s streak in the top of the second with a homer to left field. The homer marked No. 3 for Crews in the big leagues.

Defensive blunders would help the Nationals score their next two runs of the game. The first came from Joey Bart, who let a pitch get by him at the plate, allowing Luis Garcia Jr. to score from third. Garcia would benefit from another mistake in the field two innings later, as a poor throw to second base from Oneil Cruz allowed Garcia to advance to third and eventually be brought home on a sacrifice fly by Keibert Ruiz.

Jose Tena followed Ruiz’s sacrifice fly with a single. Crews then brought Tena home in the next at-bat with a double off of the left-field wall for his second RBI of the contest. Washington tallied a valuable insurance run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from CJ Abrams against David Bednar. Herz improved to 3-7 with the win, while Ortiz dropped to 6-5 with the loss. Kyle Finnegan earned the save, his 35th of the season. Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller (11-9, 3.88) will oppose Nationals left-hander Mitchell Parker (7-9, 4.27) for the back end of Saturday’s doubleheader, which is scheduled to begin at 6:40 p.m.