{"id":676859,"date":"2026-04-16T10:56:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/676859\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T10:56:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:56:35","slug":"mlodzinski-dominates-as-pirates-shut-out-nationals-2-0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/676859\/","title":{"rendered":"Mlodzinski Dominates as Pirates Shut Out Nationals 2-0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AA fractured, cubist depiction of a dominant pitching performance that stifled one of the National League’s top offenses.Today in Pittsburgh<\/p>\n

Carmen Mlodzinski allowed just two hits over a career-high six innings, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 2-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night. Mlodzinski, who took over for opener Mason Montgomery in the second inning, struck out five batters and lowered his ERA to 1.77 on the season. Ryan O’Hearn had three hits for the Pirates, who got first-inning RBI singles from Marcell Ozuna and Nick Gonzales to provide the winning margin.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

The Pirates’ strong pitching performance and offensive production against the high-powered Nationals lineup demonstrates the team’s ability to win close, low-scoring games – a valuable skill as they look to compete in the NL Central division race.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

Mlodzinski, who began the season as a full-time starter for the first time in his four-year career, took over for opener Mason Montgomery in the second inning and proceeded to dominate the Nationals lineup. He struck out five batters and allowed just two hits over his six scoreless frames. The Pirates got all the offense they needed in the first inning, when Marcell Ozuna and Nick Gonzales delivered RBI singles against Nationals starter Jake Irvin. Four Pittsburgh pitchers combined to shut out the Nationals, who came into the game tied for the best offensive start in franchise history.<\/p>\n

Mlodzinski entered the game in the top of the second inning.The Pirates scored their two runs in the first inning.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Carmen Mlodzinski<\/p>\n

A 24-year-old right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates who tossed six dominant innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five batters.<\/p>\n

Ryan O’Hearn<\/p>\n

A Pirates outfielder who had three hits in the game.<\/p>\n

Marcell Ozuna<\/p>\n

A Pirates outfielder who drove in a run with an RBI single in the first inning.<\/p>\n

Nick Gonzales<\/p>\n

A Pirates infielder who also drove in a run with an RBI single in the first inning.<\/p>\n

Jake Irvin<\/p>\n

The Nationals starting pitcher who took the loss, allowing two runs in the first inning.<\/p>\n

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\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cCarmen Mlodzinski was absolutely dominant tonight. He really set the tone for us on the mound and gave us a chance to win a close game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Don Kelly, Pirates Manager<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The four-game series between the Pirates and Nationals wraps up on Thursday, with Foster Griffin starting for Washington against Pittsburgh’s Braxton Ashcraft.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

The Pirates’ ability to win a low-scoring, pitching-dominated game against one of the National League’s top offenses demonstrates their growth as a team and their potential to compete for a playoff spot in the NL Central.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a A fractured, cubist depiction of a dominant pitching performance that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2398],"tags":[5,4,415,414,71,4222],"class_list":{"0":"post-676859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-nationals","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-nationals","11":"tag-washington","12":"tag-washington-nationals","13":"tag-washingtonnationals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116414030495778447","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}