Winning has been a struggle as of late for the Pirates, and Friday’s game was no different.

Entering the bottom of the seventh inning with a one-run lead, Pittsburgh’s bullpen allowed the game to get away. The Nationals rallied to score four runs, paving the way for a 6-5 Pirates loss Friday evening at Nationals Park.

“It’s frustrating when you’re losing seven in-a-row,” Kelly told SportsNet Pittsburgh’s postgame show. “Especially when you lose the last four by one run.”

Following a walk by Riley Adams that started the inning, Dylan Crews mashed a homer off Kyle Nicolas that put the Nationals, who once trailed 3-0, ahead 4-3. Robert Hassell III kept the rally going with a single two at-bats later, then advanced to third base on a double by James Wood, which ended Nicolas’ day.

With two on and two outs, Dauri Moreta took over. Former Pirate Josh Bell welcomed the right-hander into the game with a single to center field. The ball was poorly fielded by Oneil Cruz, skipping under his glove and allowing both runs to score. Before Don Kelly knew it, his team had completely squandered another winnable ballgame.

The Pirates did their best to make the game exciting in the ninth inning, though.

Nick Gonzales broke the team’s streak of 11 hitless at-bats with a leadoff double. Nick Yorke followed with a pinch-hit, RBI single to right field, making it a two-run game. After Cam Devanney struck out swinging, Alexander Canario drew a walk to put the tying run on base. A wild pitch in the next at-bat moved both runners into scoring position.

Pinch hitter Joey Bart singled to left field, bringing home Yorke. Canario made a dash for home to score the game’s tying run, but a crisp throw home from Wood beat him to the plate. Triolo then flew out to right to end the game.

“I thought it was great throw by Wood,” Kelly said after the loss. “I thought it was a good send by [Mike Rabelo]. It took a really good throw by Wood to get him.”

PJ Poulin was the game’s winning pitcher, having replaced Nationals starter Brad Lord at the start of the seventh inning. Nicolas suffered the loss. Jose A. Ferrer earned the save, his ninth of the season.

It was over when ...

... Wood’s throw home beat Canario to the plate, preventing the tying run from scoring in the top of the ninth inning.

On the mound

Second-half struggles have long been something associated with Mitch Keller’s game. The veteran right-hander continued to erase such stigma Friday evening. Keller, coming off his best outing in months, was strong once again, allowing two runs, one earned, over 5⅓ innings of work.

The Nationals notched just four hits and a walk off Keller, who tallied four strikeouts. The first run he allowed was a solo homer to Brady House in the bottom of the sixth inning. A wild pitch from reliever Evan Sisk led to Keller’s second run, allowing Wood to score with two outs.

At the plate

Bryan Reynolds gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning with a single that scored Triolo, who doubled two at-bats prior. Spencer Horwitz extended Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-0 with a home run to right field in the top of the fifth. The blast was his ninth of the season.

All three runs were allowed by Lord. The Pirates bats went quiet for an extended stretch following Horwitz’s homer, going hitless in their next 11 plate appearances until Gonzales’ double.

Most valuable player

Wood, who doubled twice, scored two runs and delivered a sharp throw home to prevent the tying run from scoring in the ninth inning.

Up next

The Pirates and Nationals will continue their three-game series Saturday at Nationals Park. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. Bubba Chandler (2-1, 7.36 ERA) will face Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 1.86) on the mound.

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