Pirates 8, Nationals 5
Ryan Doumit went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Garrett Jones drove in three runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates rolled to an 8-5 triumph over the Washington Nationals.
Pedro Alvarez hit a two-run double and Jose Tabata collected two hits and two runs scored for the Pirates, who had lost five in a row to the Nationals.
Playing in his second major league game, Danny Espinosa led off the top of the third with his first career home run, giving Washington a 1-0 lead. But Jones highlighted a three-run third for Pittsburgh with a two-run double and Doumit opened the fourth with his 12th homer of the year for a 4-1 bulge.
The Pirates added four more runs in the fifth to increase their lead to seven. Jones delivered an RBI double and Alvarez followed with his two-base hit that plated two more runs. Doumit capped the rally with an RBI single.
Washington closed the gap to 8-5 with four runs in the sixth. Adam Dunn and Justin Maxwell had RBI singles, Espinosa drove in one with a double and Ryan Zimmerman scored on a double-play grounder.
Zach Duke (7-12) picked up just his second win in seven starts, allowing four runs and five hits in five-plus innings. Five relievers bridged the gap to Joel Hanrahan, who worked a scoreless ninth for his third save in six opportunities.
Livan Hernandez (9-10) fell to 1-3 in his last six outings after surrendering eight runs and eight hits in just 4 1/3 frames. Hernandez, who walked two and struck out four, has posted a 12.00 ERA over his last three starts.