Pirates 7, Nationals 2
A five-run first inning helped jolt the dormant Pittsburgh offense to life and sparked the Pirates to a 7-2 win over visiting Washington on Saturday.
The Pirates, who had been shut out in their last two games at Florida, broke out against Nationals starter Livan Hernandez (2-2), stringing together six hits in the opening inning, with five players each getting an RBI.
Leadoff hitter Andrew McCutchen spearheaded the offense with a single,
two walks, two steals and three runs scored, as the Pirates snapped a
three-game losing streak. Lyle Overbay had two hits and two RBIs and
Jose Tabata had two hits, an RBI and his ninth stolen base of the
season.
Hernandez allowed seven runs - four earned - and nine hits in six innings and dropped to 1-5 at PNC Park.
The winning pitcher was Jeff Karstens (2-0), who allowed two runs and six hits in six-plus innings. One of the hits was a solo homer by Jayson Werth, his third.
Chris Resop relieved Karstens with two runners on and no outs in the seventh and struck out two of the next three batters to kill the Washington rally. Joe Beimel and Evan Meek each pitched an inning of shutout relief to close the victory.
The win was only the second at home for the Pirates this season.