Nationals at Pirates
Fresh off a dramatic victory, the Pittsburgh
Pirates attempt to defeat the visiting Washington Nationals for the
second straight night on Wednesday. Pittsburgh received a
game-winning two-run homer from Rod Barajas with two outs in the
bottom of ninth to notch a 5-4 victory in the opener. Washington had
taken a one-run lead in the top of the inning on a two-run homer by Adam
LaRoche. The Nationals have lost two consecutive contests.
Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman returned
from a stint on the disabled list due to a shoulder injury just as the
team placed outfielder Jayson Werth on the injury list due to a broken
left wrist. Werth’s injury also kept rookie
phenom Bryce Harper in the big leagues. Harper is batting .300 and had
his sixth double in 30 at-bats during Tuesday’s game. Barajas is batting
just .141 and didn’t have a single RBI prior to hitting the decisive
blast off Washington closer Henry Rodriguez.
Four of Pittsburgh’s five hits were for extra bases, including homers
by Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, Mid-Atlantic Sports Network 2 (Washington), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
PITCHING MATCHUP:
Nationals LH Ross Detwiler (3-1, 1.69 ERA) vs. Pirates LH Erik Bedard (2-4, 2.65 ERA)
Detwiler has allowed one or fewer earned runs in
four of his five starts. He has allowed just 19 hits in 28 1/3 innings
and opponents are batting .190 against him. Detwiler defeated the
Arizona Diamondbacks in his last outing when he
gave up one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings. He is making his
second career start against Pittsburgh.
Bedard has struck out 20 batters in 10 innings
while winning back-to-back starts. He fanned nine Atlanta Braves on
April 28 and followed that up with a season-high 11 strikeouts against
the St. Louis Cardinals on May 3. Bedard has given
up two or fewer earned runs in all six of his starts. He is 0-1 with a
1.42 ERA in three career starts against Washington.
WALK-OFFS:
1. Washington dropped to 9-5 in one-run games after Tuesday’s final-inning loss.
2. Pirates outfielder Nate McLouth is just 1-for-10 against Detwiler.
3. LaRoche, who played for the Pirates in 2008 and half of 2009, has five homers in 80 career at-bats against his former team.