Pirates blow another lead, suffer doubleheader sweep vs. Nationals

The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to struggle to protect a late lead, no matter who is on the mound. And their latest failure came back to bite them in the ninth inning of a split doubleheader.

After pulling two-time All-Star David Bednar out of the closer role, the Pirates watched Aroldis Chapman blow a two-run lead against the Washington Nationals on Saturday night before 18,937 at PNC Park.

The Nationals scored four runs in the ninth, taking the lead on a two-run double by Ildemaro Vargas and adding an insurance run on an RBI double by Keibert Ruiz for an 8-6 comeback win. Rookie Dylan Crews led the Nationals to a 5-3 win in the first game, which was played in the afternoon after Friday’s game was postponed because of inclement weather.

“It’s tough to swallow,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I think we’re in a situation where we went punch out, walk, punch out. We were basically an out away with a runner at second, and we end up giving up multiple runs. It’s definitely frustrating. We’ve got to figure out the answer to it because it seems too often that we’re one strike away, one pitch away, definitely one out away from getting out of it, and we’ve not done it.”

Chapman (5-5) almost escaped when Connor Joe stretched out in an attempt to make a diving catch on Vargas’ fly ball to right with two outs in the ninth, only for the ball to pop out of the palm of his glove before he landed face-first in the grass.

“If he makes it, I agree that it’s a situation where the game is over and it’s a great catch,” said Shelton, who was more concerned with leaving 10 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the third. “But there were other opportunities in the game that we didn’t capitalize on.”

The Pirates got a strong start from Mitch Keller, who recorded eight strikeouts without a walk over six innings. Keller fanned seven of the first 13 batters he faced to set the tone and left with a 4-2 lead.

“Obviously, I wish we won the game,” Keller said. “But, yeah, feels good to put it all together.”

The Nationals tied the score when Andres Chaparro hit a two-run home run with two outs in the seventh off lefty Ryan Borucki, who left a 2-2 sinker over the middle of the plate following a mound visit from pitching coach Oscar Marin.

The Pirates came through with two runs in the eighth, as Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled to right to score Bryan De La Cruz from second base to make it 5-4, then Bryan Reynolds grounded into a forceout at second but beat the double-play throw to drive in Joey Bart for a two-run advantage.

In the first game of the doubleheader, Crews did a number on the Pirates, as the 2023 No. 2 overall pick was 2 for 3 with a home run, a double and a walk, two RBIs, two runs scored and two stolen bases.

“He’s a talented player,” Shelton said. “You get taken second overall and you get to the big league within (13) months, whatever it is, yeah, he’s a talented player.”

The Pirates were hitless through six innings and facing the prospect of a second combined no-hitter in four days before Nick Gonzales slapped a single through the left side of the infield and Rowdy Tellez followed with a two-run homer in the seventh.

The Nationals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Crews drilled a 1-1 fastball 404 feet to left field for his third career home run.

“I was trying to execute with my fastball but he got the best of me,” Pirates Game 1 starter Luis Ortiz said. “He was on it.”

Crews also played a role in Washington extending its lead in the fourth, as Ortiz endured a 33-pitch inning. After Luis Garcia Jr. drew a leadoff walk and Jose Tena singled to center, Crews advanced both runners on a groundout to second. Garcia scored on a passed ball by Bart to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead.

It got worse from there.

Garcia Jr. hit a leadoff double to the right-center gap in the sixth that center fielder Oneil Cruz scooped, only to spin and make an ill-advised throw that sailed between first and second base. Kiner-Falefa tried to cut it off, but the ball skipped off his leg and into foul territory, allowing Garcia to reach third. Garcia scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Keibert Ruiz for a 3-0 Nationals lead.

“We didn’t help him defensively,” Shelton said. “The ball we missed with a runner on second and third and we get an out after that, so a run. Cruzy tried to rush a throw a little bit too much. IKF got too quick on it and ended up kicking it, and then it ends up being a sacrifice fly. There are some things in the game we could have done better. Because of it, he ended up giving up runs, so that’s where we have to be better on our side.”

Tena followed with a single and scored when Crews hit a line drive off the base of the left-field fence to make it 4-0. That was it for Ortiz, who allowed three earned runs on six hits and two walks on 100 pitches in 5 2/3 innings.

Through six innings, the Pirates had yet to get a hit and were facing the potential for a second combined no-hitter in four days, as Nationals lefty DJ Herz didn’t allow a hit or a run but had three walks and five strikeouts in five innings. Herz threw his four-seam fastball on 50 of his 87 pitches, generating seven whiffs and seven called strikes.

“It was interesting,” Shelton said. “I don’t know if we’ve seen a young pitcher like that vary the speeds of his fastball: 92, 94, 96, back to 92, went back up. He did a nice job at the top of the zone, and we just did not adjust to it.”

Herz was replaced by fellow lefty Robert Garcia, who retired the first five batters he faced. Finally, Gonzales hit a first-pitch changeup on the outside corner through short for a single to break up the combined no-hit bid. When the Nationals brought in righty Jacob Barnes, the Pirates pinch-hit the lefty slugger Tellez for Joe.

It proved fortuitous, as Tellez crushed a 2-2 cutter 443 feet over the right field seats for his 13th homer of the season — and sixth pinch-hit homer of his career — to cut the Pirates’ deficit to 4-2.

The Pirates turned to Bednar in the ninth, only for him to walk Crews and Joey Gallo. A double steal put both in scoring position, and CJ Abrams drove in Crews with a sacrifice fly for a 5-2 lead.

A ninth-inning rally cut into the deficit in the ninth. After Bart and Cruz singled, Gonzales hit a flare to shallow left to score Bart from second to make it 5-3. Tellez drew a walk to load the bases and was replaced by pinch runner Michael A. Taylor, but Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan got De La Cruz to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.

“For six innings, (we) didn’t get anything going,” Shelton said. “A couple walks, and then Rowdy hits the home run and we continue to go. We have the winning run on base as the game ended. We continued to play, which is important. We just didn’t get the big hit at the end.”