Pirates 5, Nationals 4
Pirates 5, Nationals 4: Catcher Rod Barajas belted a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth as Pittsburgh edged visiting Washington.
Alex Presley singled and moved to third on two wild pitches before Barajas, now batting .141, hit his first of the season just inside the left-field foul pole off closer Henry Rodriguez (1-2).
Adam LaRoche had hit a two-run homer in the ninth off closer Joel Hanrahan to give Washington a 4-3 lead. Tony Watson (2-0) got the final out in the ninth to get the victory.
Pirates starter A.J. Burnett, after giving up 12 runs in his last outing, allowed six hits, two runs and struck out a season-high 10 over eight innings.
Wilson Ramos belted a solo homer, his second of the season, giving the Nationals a 1-0 lead in the third. Bryce Harper hit his sixth double in nine major league games in the fourth and scored on Rick Ankiel’s two-out RBI single to push the lead to 2-0.
Andrew McCutchen hammered his first homer of the season and Garrett Jones connected for his fourth – both with two strikes – to tie the game 2-2 for Pittsburgh in the bottom of the fourth.
Washington starter Edwin Jackson allowed three hits and two runs in seven innings.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ryan Zimmerman returned to the lineup for the Nationals after missing the last 13 games with right shoulder inflammation, going 1-for-4. … Burnett was making his 14th career start against the Nationals franchise, but first since June 27, 2006 when he was with Toronto. … The Nationals signed left-handed reliever Mike Gonzalez to a minor-league deal.