Pirates rip Nationals, 10-4
Have the Pirates, winners in four of their past five games, turned a corner?
“I think things are looking good,” Jaso said, with a grin. “We’ll go with that.”
The offense again showed up for rookie righthander Tyler Glasnow. It has averaged 6.12 runs per game in his eight starts this season. Glasnow was charged with four runs, two earned, in five innings. His pitching line included four hits, three walks and six strikeouts. The unearned runs scored when Glasnow threw wildly to first base, tacking on two runs in a three-run fourth.
Against Glasnow, the Nationals’ 1-3 hitters — Trea Turner,Brian Goodwin and Bryce Harper — were 0 for 8 with four strikeouts. The Nos. 5-8 hitters were 3 for 8 with a double, homer, four runs and three walks. Glasnow said his aim was to be aggressive toward the top of the lineup.
“It was definitely a confidence booster,” he said.
The offensive assault started early against righthander Tanner Roark, who allowed eight hits, four walks and seven runs over five-plus innings. He was unable to carry the innings Baker expected him to, so the weary Nationals bullpen was taxed further, and hit hard.
Bell, batting cleanup for the first time in his career, came to the plate in the first inning with two outs and a runner on second. The runner, Frazier, advanced to third on a balk — the second balk in as many days with Frazier on base — and Bell worked the count full. Roark’s next slider might have hit Bell’s back knee had he not scooped it into the right-field seats for a 2-0 lead.
The blast was Bell’s team-leading ninth home run this season — most among National League rookies — and his fourth in the past six games. His 18 RBIs are second most on the Pirates.
“It was definitely a nasty pitch,” Bell said. “Got my barrel to it, stayed through it, kept it fair.”
More impressive than the ball Bell hit, manager Clint Hurdle said, were the ones he watched in a walk which loaded the bases in the third. Bell back from being behind, 0-2, in the count. Jaso walked on eight pitches, forcing in a run, and Jordy Mercer’s fielder’s choice scored another.
The Nationals’ only runs came in the first four innings. Glasnow delivered first-pitch strikes to the first six batters. The fifth, Daniel Murphy, was down, 1-2, when he lifted a curveball — a third consecutive curve from Glasnow — to right field for a solo home run. Washington reduced the deficit to 4-2 when Adam Lind missed a home run by a few feet on an RBI double in the fourth.
Glasnow nearly stopped the damage there. He fielded Roark’s two-out grounder in the fourth, took his time gathering and then pulled Bell off the bag with his throw. Bell attempted a swipe tag, but the ball popped loose when he applied the tag, and two runs scored, tying the score.
“I was really mad at the time,” Glasnow said, “but it’s easier now.”
“The biggest gap today was not being able to field his position,” Hurdle added.
Washington’s front folded. Jaso smacked a solo homer off Roark in the fifth. Frazier, the leadoff hitter, scalded a two-run double in the sixth and added a tworun single the next inning.
In the seventh, before the Pirates insurance runs, the Nationals (25-15) had their best chance to crack into the lead. With runners on the corners and two outs, Hurdle summoned lefthander Felipe Rivero to deal with Harper. It was a hitter batting .376 with a league-leading 1.235 OPS against a reliever with a 0.83 ERA and a triple-digit fastball velocity.
The pitch sequence called for fastballs at 98 mph, 99, 99, 100 and a slider before Rivero fired a 99 mph heater Harper swung through for his third strikeout in the game.
“That’s a matchup I’ve got to believe in today’s game you pay to watch, on both sides,” Hurdle said. “There’s no give.”