Instant Analysis: Nats 8, Pirates 7 (10)
The Nationals blew a ninth-inning lead but still won a wild, back-and-forth series finale to complete an impressive 5-2 road trip
PITTSBURGH – How did the Nationals pull off a wild victory over the Pirates today and finish off a most-impressive road trip against NL Central contenders? With some timely hits, some shaky defense from the opposition and some extra work in extra innings after blowing a lead in the bottom of the ninth. Put that all together and you get an 8-7, 10-inning win on a warm afternoon at PNC Park to complete a 5-2 week in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.
Picking up Clayton Beeter following his blown save, the Nats re-took the lead in the top of the 10th when James Wood delivered a two-out RBI single to right, scoring automatic runner Jorbit Vivas. Orlando Ribalta, the sixth reliever of the afternoon, then kept the Pirates from scoring in the bottom of the 10th thanks to a game-ending double play to record his first career save and preserve the tense victory.
This actually started out as a brisk pitchers’ duel, with Foster Griffin and Braxton Ashcraft each posting competing zeros for four innings. Then somebody flipped a switch and turned this game into a carnival ride. The Nationals scored four runs in the top of the fifth despite recording only one hit. The Pirates came right back and scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth via two extremely loud hits by Oneil Cruz and Marcell Ozuna.
The Nats re-took the lead in the sixth on Curtis Mead’s pinch-hit double, then gave the Pirates the lead in the bottom of the inning on Konnor Griffin’s first career triple off Paxton Schultz and Nick Gonzales’ RBI single off PJ Poulin. Then the Nationals got the lead back again in the seventh when Jacob Young was drilled by a fastball in the right hand with the bases loaded and Daylen Lile scored moments later on a wild pitch.
Needing somebody to step up and get this game back under control, the Nats turned to the back end of their bullpen. Gus Varland recorded the final two outs of the seventh to protect a one-run lead. Cionel Pérez completed a scoreless eighth. But after his teammates failed to add some insurance despite loading the bases with nobody out in the top of the ninth, Beeter blew the save via two walks, a hit batter and a two-out grounder up the middle that got past him, sending this game to extra innings.
HITTING HIGHLIGHT: Can the hitting highlight be a play that didn’t actually count as a hit? Sure, there are no rules here! What a bizarre moment it was in the top of the fifth when García hit a grounder toward short with the bases loaded. Konnor Griffin tried to beat Nasim Nuñez to the bag but was deemed a split-second too late. Then the two got tangled on Nuñez’s hard slide, and Griffin proceeded to spike the ball into the ground. The next thing you knew, three runs had scored. The Pirates challenged the call, but after a lengthy review everything stood, with no examination of whether Nuñez interfered with Griffin. Then moments later, Ashcraft appeared to have García picked off, only to throw the ball into center field as García scampered home with the fourth run of an inning that included only one actual hit.
PITCHING HIGHLIGHT/LOWLIGHT: For four innings, Foster Griffin was a highlight reel. The left-hander posted four straight zeros, striking out five batters on five different types of pitches (four-seam fastball, sinker, curveball, changeup, cutter). He once again seemed to be out-thinking an opposing lineup that had never seen him before. And then came the bottom of the fifth, at which point his highlight afternoon turned into a lowlight. Whether it was the familiarity of facing him a third time today or just poor execution, Griffin gave up four hits in the inning, including a 119-mph bullet off the right-field wall by Cruz and a moonshot, three-run homer down the left-field line by Ozuna. There’s still a lot to like about the way Griffin is pitching so far, but the specter looms of teams starting to figure him out the more everyone sees him.
NOTABLE: Blake Butera has pinch-hit for one of his catchers seven times in the last 11 games. Those pinch-hitters have gone 4-for-7 with three doubles and four RBI.
UP NEXT: The road trip is over, but there’s no day off for the Nationals, who open a seven-game homestand against the Giants and Braves starting Friday at 6:45 p.m. Zack Littell will pitch the opener against San Francisco workhorse Logan Webb. TV: Nationals TV/FOX 5 RADIO: 106.7 FM
An ugly victory is still a victory. Good to see the team score the zombie runner and hold the opposition - we don’t see that as often as I would like.
Thinking back on watching today's game, I realized that unlike last year, every time Pittsburgh went ahead, I felt there was a good chance the Nats would come back - something I never would have felt with last year's team.
Maybe they don't win that many more games than last year, but they'll be competitive in a lot more than last year.