Pirates at Nationals
The Pittsburgh Pirates have answered a five-game losing skid with wins in five straight outings fueled on the steam of a few sterling performances on the mound. The National League Central-leading Pirates (17-11) aim to continue their torrid stretch on Monday when they begin a nine-game road trip with the first of four contests versus the Washington Nationals (12-16).
Nick Kingham carried a perfect game into the seventh inning as the Pirates posted their second shutout victory of their win streak with Sunday's 5-0 win over St. Louis. Batterymate Elias Diaz recorded his second three-hit performance in five days and his fifth multi-hit effort in eight outings for Pittsburgh, which carries a 7-6 road mark into the nation's capital to face a Washington club that is just 4-9 in front of its home fans. Michael A. Taylor joined Matt Wieters with a homer on Sunday as the Nationals collected just their second win in eight outings with a 3-1 triumph over Arizona. Taylor has ventured deep three times in his last seven outings, going 7-for-22 with five RBIs and seven runs scored in that stretch.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, MASN (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Jameson Taillon (2-2, 4.91 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Tanner Roark (1-2, 3.77)
Taillon has tumbled in each of his last two outings, surrendering a total of 12 runs on 14 hits - including three homers - over 5 1/3 innings in losses to Philadelphia and Detroit. The 26-year-old aims to get back on track versus Washington, against which he allowed one run on four hits in seven innings in his last encounter on Sept. 30. Ryan Zimmerman is 3-for-4 versus Taillon, but the right-hander has handcuffed the rest of the Nationals roster to the tune of limiting the bunch to 4-for-31 with seven strikeouts against him.
After a superb performance in his season opener, Roark fell to 0-2 in his last four outings on Tuesday after yielding four runs on six hits across six innings of a 4-3 setback at San Francisco. The 31-year-old permitted two homers in that clash and has been taken deep five times in his last four trips to the mound. Roark fell to 2-1 in his career versus Pittsburgh after getting blitzed for seven runs on eight hits - including two homers - in a 10-4 shellacking on May 18.
WALK-OFFS
1. Washington SS Trea Turner has been successful in all 12 stolen base attempts this season.
2. Pittsburgh C Francisco Cervelli is 7-for-14 with two homers, eight RBIs and three runs scored in his last four outings.
3. Nationals OF Bryce Harper has just two hits - albeit with eight walks - in his last five games.