Andrew McCutchen and Nick Yorke hit two-run singles during a decisive eighth-inning rally, rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler retired the first 15 batters he faced, and the Pittsburgh Pirates snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Nationals on Saturday at Nationals Park in Washington.

How We Got There

The Pirates (65-84) trailed 1-0 going into the eighth inning but loaded the bases with one out. Pinch-hitter Spencer Horwitz and Tommy Pham drew walks from Cole Henry (1-2) and Bryan Reynolds greeted P.J. Poulin with a single to load the bases.

After Nick Gonzales fouled out, McCutchen then lined his single into right field to put the Pirates 2-1. Two batters later. Yorke singled off the glove of second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. to push the lead to 4-1.

Making his second major-league start and fifth overall appearance, Chandler took a perfect game into the sixth inning when Dylan Crews hit a leadoff single. Crews scored on Robert Hassell III’s single with one out to snap the scoreless tie.

The Pirates’ Jared Triolo hit his sixth home run of the season, a solo shot off Shinnosuke Ogasawara, in the ninth inning.

The Nationals (61-87) lost for the third time in four games.

Key Moment

McCutchen’s two-run single in the eighth put the Pirates ahead and sparked a four-run inning.

Player of the Game

Nationals rookie left-hander Andrew Alvarez pitched six scoreless innings in his third MLB start, allowing three hits, striking out five and walking one.

Stat to Know

The Pirates’ ERA has gone from 5.08 in 2021 to 4.66 in 2022 to 4.60 in 2023 to 4.15 in 2024 to 3.85 this season. This would be the first time the Pirates have improved their ERA in four straight seasons since it became an official statistic in 1912.

Notable Performances

–Chandler was hammered for nine runs in 2.2 innings by the Milwaukee Brewers in a loss last Sunday at PNC Park. On Saturday, he limited the Nationals to one run on two hits in six innings while striking out seven and walking none.

–Carmen Mlodzinski (4-8) pitched two scoreless relief innings for the win and has a 1.90 ERA in his last 20 appearances.

–Dennis Santana finished with a scoreless ninth and lowered his ERA to 1.20 in his last 15 games.

–Triolo went 2 for 5 and is hitting .301 since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Aug. 1.

–Reynolds went 2 for 4 and is batting .396 in 14 career games at Nationals Park.

Noteworthy

The Pirates have eight players with at least 15 doubles this season: Triolo. Gonzales, Oneil Cruz, Horwitz, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, McCutchen, Pham, and Reynolds.

Up Next

The three-game series concludes at 11:35 a.m. Sunday with the rubber game. Rookie Mike Burrows (2-4, 3.99) will start for the Pirates against Cade Cavalli (3-1, 4.67). The game will be televised by SportsNet Pittsburgh and broadcast by 93.7 The Fan.

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