The Washington Nationals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 last night in the first game of a three-game series. The Pirates bullpen gave up a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning which led to the Bucs fourth loss in a row. O’Neill Cruz hit his first home run of the season for the Pirates. The Bucs have fallen 15 games under .500 with the loss.
The two teams play again tonight at 7:05pm. Pre-game on WISR begins at 6:40pm.
Josh VanMeter returned from the Injured List and played last night. The Pirates sent rookie outfielder Cal Mitchell back to Triple-A Indianapolis tp create a roster spot for VanMeter, who had a double in his return, but also had an error.