|
 The left-hander pitched six strong innings on 10 days of rest and
center fielder Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer as the
Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Washington Nationals 7-3 on Thursday
night.
Liriano (6-6) struck out 11 while allowing one run and three hits.
He walked three after being scratched with a stiff neck last
Saturday just moments before he was to face the Brewers in
Milwaukee.
Despite not pitching since July 12, he made things look simple.
"Just glad to get out there again and try and help the team win some
ballgames," Liriano said.
Liriano had nine strikeouts in the first four innings and he fielded
ground balls for the other three outs.
In his last five starts, Liriano is 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA.
"It was fun to watch," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "I can't
remember a game through four innings where the only people that
played were the pitcher, the catcher and the first baseman."
McCutchen's 13th homer of the season came in the seventh inning off
reliever Tanner Roark to extend the lead to 6-1 and give the Pirates
just their second win in seven games since the All-Star break.
Pittsburgh (55-40) won for the ninth time in its last 10 games at
PNC Park, where it is 33-16, and snapped a seven-game losing streak
against the Nationals.
McCutchen is hitting .323 in 48 home games this season, compared
with .262 in 44 games on the road. He had been 3-for-31 in his last
nine games against the Nationals.
"Waiting on some good pitches to hit and when we got'em, we hit'em,"
McCutchen said. "We haven't been getting those pitches of late, I
mean when we got them, we haven't hit them."
First baseman Pedro Alvarez homered and had two RBIs for the Pirates
and catcher Francisco Cervelli also went deep after missing the
previous two games with a bruised right wrist.
Cervelli's solo shot, his fifth homer of the season, came in the
eighth off rookie reliever Abel de los Santos and closed the
scoring.
Pirates rookie shortstop Jung Ho Kang had two doubles and left
fielder Starling Marte had an RBI triple among his two hits.
Kang extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He is 17-for-37 (.459)
with nine RBIs during that span, raising his batting average to
.289. Marte is 10-for-17 (.588) in his last four games.
"Hitting is contagious, that's for sure," McCutchen said. "You see
guys hitting up there, you get confidence you can get up there and
do it yourself."
The Pirates extended their lead in their lead to 3 1/2 games in the
National League wild-card race but remained six games behind the St.
Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.
Washington right-hander Doug Fister (3-6) had his road woes continue
as he allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings with no walks
and six strikeouts. Fister is 1-4 with a 5.46 ERA in six starts away
from home this season.
[to top of second column] |
"It's inexcusable," said Feister, who is three games under .500 for
the first time since 2012. "Messing up too many pitches. I'm leaving
them over the plate. I'm not going for the right pitches at the
right time and that's on me. I'm kind of going with my second or
third best pitch and I just need to kind of reevaluate myself."
Nationals manager Matt Williams believes Fister's inability to
control his sinking fastball is at the root of his problems.
"He needs to get on top of the baseball and turn the hand over to
get it to sink," Williams said. "For some reason he's just not
feeling it. He hasn't felt it."
The Nationals (51-43) were hitless in seven at-bats with runners in
scoring position but maintained a three-game lead over the New York
Mets in the National League Central.
Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond had two hits, including a two-run
homer off Pirates reliever Arquimedes Caminero in the ninth inning,
his ninth home run of the season and 100th of his career. Desmond is
7-for-13 (.538) in his last four games.
The Pirates took a 2-0 lead on Marte's RBI triple in the first
inning and Alvarez's 13th homer in the second.
The Nationals got their run in the fifth when left fielder Clint
Robinson scored on a wild pitch.
The Pirates moved ahead 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Kang
doubled home a run and scored on a groundout by Alvarez.
NOTES: The Pirates acquired 3B Aramis Ramirez from the Milwaukee
Brewers for Triple-A Indianapolis RHP Yhonathan Barrios. Ramirez is
expected to join the Pirates for the Saturday game against the
Nationals and serve as the regular third baseman with 3B Josh
Harrison (torn left thumb ligament) out through at least the end of
August. ... Nationals INF Yunel Escobar underwent a CT scan that
showed no structural damage to his left wrist and hand. Escboar left
Wednesday's win over the New York Mets when he felt pain after
swinging at a pitch. He did not play Thursday. ... The second game
of the four-game series is Friday, with Nationals RHP Max Scherzer
(10-8, 2.09 ERA) facing Pirates LHP Jeff Locke (5-6, 4.01). Scherzer
pitched a no-hitter against the Pirates on June 20 at Washington.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
