The Washington Nationals rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 in 10 innings at PNC Park on Thursday, splitting a four-game series. James Wood drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single, and Orlando Ribalta secured his first career save. The win improved the Nationals to 5-2 on their road trip.
PITTSBURGH – Blake Butera, the Nationals' first-year manager, smiled as he entered his postgame press conference. “Never a doubt,” he said, praising his team's resiliency after they blew a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning but fought back to win the series finale 8-7 in extras. The Nationals, now 9-10, took advantage of Pirates errors and wild pitches for much of their scoring in the highest-scoring game of their season so far. The turning point came in the top of the fifth with bases loaded and one out. Luis García Jr. grounded to rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin, who failed to get the force at second and spiked a throw to first, allowing three runs to score. García then came home on a wild pickoff throw by pitcher Braxton Ashcraft, putting Washington ahead 4-0 before Pittsburgh's comeback. In the seventh, two more runs scored against reliever Yohan Ramírez on a hit-by-pitch to Jacob Young and a wild pitch that brought Daylen Lile home. James Wood, last week's National League Player of the Week, delivered the decisive RBI single in the 10th. Orlando Ribalta escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom half for the save, while Clayton Beeter earned the win despite a blown save in the ninth. “You just got to slow it down, relax, and treat it like a regular game,” Ribalta said. Oneil Cruz highlighted Pittsburgh's fifth-inning rally with a 119 mph RBI double, the hardest-hit ball in the majors this season. Starter Foster Griffin kept the Pirates scoreless for four innings before allowing four runs. Drew Millas, Wood, and Lile each had two of Washington's 10 hits, with Joey Wiemer adding a key RBI double.
