Nationals rally from 3-run deficit to beat Pirates, who drop another 1-run decision

When the Pittsburgh Pirates poured on three runs in the first inning against the Washington Nationals, it was the continuation of a post-trade deadline trend.

Since Aug. 1, the Pirates lead the major leagues with the most runs scored in the first inning (40). Problem is, they did nothing to pile onto that production Sunday and blew their big lead.

What looked like a routine play took a terrible turn for the Pirates when Daylen Lile’s double rolled under Oneil Cruz’s glove. The mishap allowed James Wood to score the winning run from first base in the eighth inning.

The Pirates stranded a pair of runners in the ninth inning, and the Nationals rallied for a 4-3 win at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The annual Nats on Base Abroad game started at 11:35 a.m. and was simulcast to U.S. service members in Qatar.

The Pirates (65-85) dropped to 24-33 in one-run games, the most in the major leagues this season. It was their eighth loss in the past nine games, with the last five coming by one run.

“It was a tough one, especially scoring three in the first inning and then not being able to put more runs on the board,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “… We just need to find a way to make some plays.”

Wood led off the eighth by drawing a four-pitch walk off Isaac Mattson (3-3). With one out, Lile smacked a double to left-center. Cruz raced to cut off the ball in the gap, but the ball rolled under his outstretched glove and Wood scored to give the Nationals their first lead of the game.

It was a tough ending for Cruz, who went 2 for 3 with a double, a walk and a stolen base and snapped a 20-batter stretch between hits. But the ball getting by him proved to be the difference in the outcome.

“Good effort getting over to it,” Kelly said. “Just didn’t get down to be able to get it.”

The Pirates jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Jared Triolo reached on a dribbler to third, Spencer Horwitz drew a four-pitch walk and both runners scored when Nick Gonzales tripled to the right-field corner to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. Gonzales scored on a wild pitch by Cade Cavalli.

Ji Hwan Bae drew a leadoff walk to start the second, only to be caught stealing when he slid past the bag. Kelly acknowledged that it might have accounted for a “little momentum shift.”

The Nationals tied it with a three-run second against Pirates starter Mike Burrows. Lile led off with a four-pitch walk, advanced to third on Andres Chaparro’s single to right and scored on Paul DeJong’s double off the left-field wall. Chaparro scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Nasim Nunez to cut it to 3-2, and Jacob Young singled up the middle to drive in DeJong to tie the score.

“It really comes down to my inning,” Burrows said. “A four-pitch walk to lead it off just created an uphill battle for myself. I tried to limit damage as best I could. Some baseball stuff happened. It’s just unfortunate.”

The Pirates couldn’t capitalize on their chances, as they went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. They stranded runners at second base in the first, fourth, sixth and seventh innings and on third base in the ninth.

Burrows had six strikeouts and allowed three runs on five hits and one walk in 4 1/3 innings before lefty Evan Sisk was brought in to face the top of the order. Sisk struck out CJ Abrams looking and Wood swinging to keep the score knotted.

In the sixth, the Pirates turned to righty reliever Justin Lawrence for his first appearance in the majors since April 22, when he was sidelined by right elbow inflammation. With one out, Lile drew a full-count walk, and Chaparro followed with a single to center. But Lawrence got DeJong swinging at a four-seam fastball to end the frame.

After Cruz doubled to left with two outs in the eighth, Joey Bart grounded out to short to end the frame.

In the ninth, Washington’s Clayton Beeter struck out Nick Yorke and Bae before Triolo drew a full-count walk. Horwitz singled to left-center, advancing Triolo to third to put runners on the corners, but Beeter struck out Bryan Reynolds to earn his first save.