During the course of this tumultuous 2021 season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the main culprits has been lack of consistent run production. On Saturday night at PNC Park, the Bucs brought out the bats and outscored the Washington Nationals 10-7 in a wild game on the north shore.
The two clubs combined for 17 runs and 19 hits on the night, with the Bucs coming through with the hits at the opportune times which proved to be the difference. A total of eleven pitchers were used, including Kyle Keller, who picked up the victory (1-1), and Chris Stratton tallied his 4th save.
A two-run single by Colin Moran in the third inning got the scoring started for Pittsburgh. A three run double by Keibert Ruiz gave the Nationals the lead in the fourth, and a double by Alcides Escobar and single by Juan Soto increased their lead to 5-2.
Bryan Reynolds hit a two run homerun, his 23rd of the season, in the fifth to cut the lead to a single run. Ben Gamel’s solo homerun later in the inning to tie the game.
The Bucs took the lead back in the sixth with four more runs. A bases loaded walk to Reynolds gave them the lead, and a single by Moran made it 7-5, and when Gamel reached on Luis Garcia’s fielding error, two more runs scored to make it 9-5 in favor of the home team.
Washington cut the lead to three runs when Yadiel Hernandez singled home a run in the seventh inning. Kevin Newman’s double scored the Bucs’ 10th and final run of the game. Despite a solo homerun by Ryan Zimmerman in the eighth, the Nationals’ comeback came up short and the Pirates held on for the victory.
The Pirates have now secured the series victory with the win on Saturday. And now, once again, they have a chance to earn a series sweep. They have been unable to clinch a sweep yet in the 2021 season, so hopefully they can break that trend on Sunday afternoon.
Record vs. Nationals: 2-3
Record vs. N.L. East: 14-12
Record at Home: 32-39
Overall Record: 52-90
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
