Andrew Heaney's gem helps Pirates edge Nationals, 1-0

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Apr 17, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PITTSBURGH — Starting pitcher Andrew Heaney reached 10 years of major league service time on Thursday, so Pirates executive chef Tony Palatucci gave him a gift: a cart with six watermelons, carved with the logos of the teams he played for, plus balloons, cupcakes, a cake and assorted fruit.

Then Heaney went out and gave the Pirates a gift of his own: 7 1/3 scoreless innings, three strikeouts and a start good enough for a 1-0 win. The Pirates won three out of four against the Nationals and improved to 8-12.

Heaney's outing meant yet another slow offensive day was enough for a win. Center fielder Oneil Cruz had the day's only run, crushing a homer out to right field on the second pitch the Pirates saw from starter Trevor Williams.

Cruz, batting leadoff for the third time in four games and third time this season, has been hitting the ball hard recently, including Wednesday night's grand slam. Thursday's homer, which went 442 feet, was the first leadoff homer of his career.

Heaney, like fellow lefty Bailey Falter did Wednesday, avoided hard contact despite not striking out very many Nationals. Washington didn't have a runner in scoring position until the sixth inning, when it had runners on second and third with two outs. Heaney got right fielder Dylan Crews to hit a weak flyout to Bryan Reynolds, back playing the outfield for the first time in almost three weeks.

The Nationals' biggest threat came in the eighth inning. Heaney walked No. 9 hitter Nasim Nunez to lead off the frame, then outfielder Alex Call bunted him to second. Pirates manager Derek Shelton brought in left-hander Ryan Borucki to face the heart of the Nationals order, and Borucki quickly got designated hitter James Wood to ground out, advancing Call to third.

Third baseman Eddie Rosario scorched a low slider toward third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, which looked off the bat like it would be an RBI double down the line. Instead, Hayes showed his Gold Glove-caliber defense, making a sprawling backhanded pick and throwing to first to get Rosario, keeping the game scoreless.

It was over when ...

Reliever Dennis Santana got the save, his second of the season, by getting two outs in the ninth. He started with a groundout from Crews, then struck out Luis Garcia looking to secure the 1-0 win.

On the mound

It's the second consecutive quality start for Heaney and the fourth quality start of the series for the Pirates starting pitchers. Heaney threw mostly fastballs and change-ups but varied his spots and occasionally his arm slot to keep the Nationals uncomfortable.

At the plate

The Pirates managed five hits: Cruz's blast and four singles. Second baseman Adam Frazier and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa had singles in the fifth, the only inning in which the Pirates had multiple hits.

Most valuable player

Heaney was excellent and has now pitched well in both career starts at PNC Park. He gave up one run in seven innings against the Yankees on April 6.

Up next

The Guardians will come to PNC Park for a three-game series starting Friday evening. Friday's matchup, which starts at 6:40 p.m., will feature right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski (1-2, 6.23 ERA) against Cleveland righty Luis Ortiz (1-2, 6.06). Ortiz pitched for the Pirates from 2022-24, making 15 starts for Pittsburgh last year, but was traded in December as part of a package for first baseman Spencer Horwitz.