Nationals top punchless Pirates, who follow win by suffering 2nd shutout in 3-day span

Mitch Keller squatted on the infield grass next to a kneeling Henry Davis, as the Pittsburgh Pirates battery watched trainers tend to Washington Nationals third baseman Paul DeJong.

When Keller’s fastball stayed up and inside and hit DeJong in the face, it was the start of what soon spiraled into a two-run inning. After Dylan Crews singled to right and stole second base, Nasim Nunez finished a 10-pitch at-bat with a two-run broken-bat single to shallow center.

That was all the offense the Nationals needed for a 3-0 win over the punchless Pirates on Tuesday night before 8,340 at PNC Park, where the temperatures were in the low 40s with rainfall.

“We threw everything I wanted to throw. I wouldn’t change a dang thing about it,” Keller said. “There was a foul tip. Wish the foul tip gets caught, but nothing we can do about that. Then go right back to it, execute the pitch. Wish he would’ve hit it a little harder. Can’t hang my head on that.”

It was the third shutout loss this season for the Pirates (6-12) and their second in three games, after a 4-0 loss Sunday at the Cincinnati Reds.

The Pirates followed a 14-hit performance in Monday’s 10-3 win by mustering only three in seven scoreless innings against Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin (1-0), who had six strikeouts against one walk in an efficient outing that saw him throw 58 of his 87 pitches for strikes. The Pirates finished with four hits.

After allowing four runs in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 9, Irvin stretched his streak of scoreless innings to a dozen.

“I thought we got some pitches to hit,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said, “and we just didn’t square him up.”

The Pirates got no offense from their top four hitters, as Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Enmanuel Valdez combined to go 0 for 16 with seven strikeouts. Only five Pirates reached base.

“Last night, we were aggressive and hit the fastball,” Shelton said. “Tonight, we did not.”

Keller (1-2) allowed three runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts over six innings for his third quality start in four appearances this season. But it was the second consecutive start where the Pirates didn’t score any runs while he was on the mound.

“I thought he threw the ball well,” Shelton said of Keller, who threw a season-high 105 pitches. “We just didn’t give him any support.”

The Pirates right-hander got off to a rough start when James Wood drilled his full-count fastball 445 feet to center for his first career leadoff home run to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead. It was Wood’s fifth homer in the past 12 games and sixth of the season.

The Pirates avoided disaster on a pair of plays in the outfield in the third. Wood hit a fly ball to left field, but Cruz drifted so far over from center that he had to hop over Jack Suwinski as he made the catch to avoid a collision. With runners on second and third, Suwinski saved runs from scoring by chasing down Josh Bell’s line drive to the corner for the final out.

Nunez started the fifth with a single to left, and Jacob Young reached when both Keller and Valdez converged on a bunt back to the mound, leaving first base uncovered. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, but Keller got Nathaniel Lowe to ground out to first to escape the jam.

The Pirates put a pair of runners on in the bottom of the fifth, as Suwinski singled to right and Pham drew a four-pitch walk. Shelton considered having Adam Frazier bunt to move the runners; instead, he flied out to center and Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded into a double play to end the Pirates’ best chance to score.

“Yeah, I thought about it,” Shelton said. “(Irvin) had just walked Tommy on four pitches and scattered his command. One of those in hindsight now I would’ve done it, but I did consider it there.”

Keller couldn’t avoid disaster in the sixth. With two outs, his 92.7-mph fastball hit DeJong and bloodied his face. After staying on the ground for a few minutes, he got up on his own and left the game.

“I feel pretty sick about that. Hate to have that happen,” Keller said. “It’s tough. I hope he’s OK. You’ve just got to battle back and get in there again and do it again.”

DeJong was replaced by pinch runner Amed Rosario, who went from first to third on a single to right by Crews, who then stole second base. After taking two called strikes and fouling off a pair of pitches, Nunez worked a 2-2 count then battled by fouling off three more pitches. Finally, he hit a 94-mph fastball on the inside corner that split his bat for a bloop single to center that gave the Nationals a three-run lead.

Shelton wasn’t sure if hitting DeJong rattled Keller but credited Nunez for coming through in the clutch for the Nationals.

“I can’t say that it didn’t, but he’s a human being. Someone got hit in the face and was bleeding on the field,” Shelton said of Keller. “In hindsight, he came back. He executed pitches. … Nunez had a good at-bat. He battled for what, eight, nine pitches, and ended up getting jammed and throwing a ball into center field.”