Pirates 7, Nationals 3
PITTSBURGH -- Francisco Liriano pitched six strong innings after missing his previous start and Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Washington Nationals 7-3 on Thursday night.
Liriano (6-6) struck out 11 while allowing one run and three hits. He walked three after being scratched with a stiff neck last Saturday just moments before he was to face the Brewers in Milwaukee.
In his last five starts, Liriano is 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA.
McCutchen's 13th homer of the season came in the seventh inning off reliever Tanner Roark to extend the lead to 6-1 and give the Pirates just their second win in seven games since the All-Star break.
Pittsburgh (55-40) won for the eighth time in its last nine home games at PNC Park.
McCutchen is hitting .323 in 48 home games this season, compared with .262 in 44 games on the road. He had been 3-for-31 in his last nine games against the Nationals.
First baseman Pedro Alvarez homered and had two RBIs for the Pirates and catcher Francisco Cervelli also went deep after missing the previous two games with a bruised right wrist.
Cervelli's solo shot, his fifth homer of the season, came in the eighth off rookie reliever Abel de los Santos and closed the scoring.
Pirates rookie shortstop Jung Ho Kang had two doubles and left fielder Starling Marte had an RBI triple among his two hits.
Kang extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He is 17-for-37 (.459) with nine RBIs during that span, raising his batting average to .289. Marte is 10-for-17 (.588) in his last four games.
The Pirates entered the day leading the National League wild-card race by three games but trailing the St. Louis Cardinals by six games in the NL Central.
Washington right-hander Doug Fister (3-6) had his road woes continue as he allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings with no walks and six strikeouts. Fister is 1-4 with a 5.46 ERA in six starts away from home this season.
Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond had two hits, including a two-run homer off Pirates reliever Arquimedes Caminero in the ninth inning, his ninth home run of the season and 100th of his career. Desmond is 7-for-13 (.538) in his last four games.
The Nationals (51-43) were hitless in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position but maintained a three-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League Central.
The Pirates scored single runs in the first and second innings to take a 2-0 lead.
Marte hit an RBI triple with two outs in the first inning. Alvarez then led off the second with his 13th home run.
The Nationals cut the lead in half in the fifth when left fielder Clint Robinson scored on a wild pitch.
The Pirates moved ahead 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Kang doubled home a run and scored on a groundout by Alvarez.
NOTES: The Pirates acquired 3B Aramis Ramirez from the Milwaukee Brewers for Triple-A Indianapolis RHP Yhonathan Barrios. The Brewers also will cover $2.2 million of the approximately $5 million left on Ramirez's $14 million salary. Ramirez is expected to join the Pirates for the Saturday game against the Nationals and serve as the regular third baseman with 3B Josh Harrison (torn left thumb ligament) out through at least the end of August. ... Nationals INF Yunel Escobar underwent a CT scan that showed no structural damage to his left wrist and hand. Escboar left Wednesday's win over the New York Mets when he felt pain after swinging at a pitch. Escobar was unable to swing a bat Thursday but was available to be used as a pinch runner or for defensive purposes. ... The second game of the four-game series is Friday, with Nationals RHP Max Scherzer (10-8, 2.09 ERA) facing Pirates LHP Jeff Locke (5-6, 4.01). Scherzer pitched a no-hitter against the Pirates on June 20 at Washington.