Pirates Comeback Falls Short After Delay vs. Nationals
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates battled back from an early deficit, but they fell just short of their ultimate goal.
The Pirates lost 5-4 to the Washington Nationals at PNC Park, missing multiple opportunities late on to tie the game or take the lead in the defeat.
Pittsburgh falls to 10-7 on the season and 5-3 at home, but are still on top of the National League Central Division, tied with the Cincinnati Reds.
The Pirates are also now even on the four-game series with the Nationals, as they won 16-5 in the series opener on April 13.
Mitch Keller Struggles Vs. Nationals
Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller came into this start vs. the Nationals off of three quality starts in his first three outings of 2026, with a 1.00 ERA.
He had his issues early on and they kept hurting him throughout his start, as he allowed five earned runs over four innings, giving up six hits, four walks and a solo home run.
Keller gave up back-to-back walks and then three straight hits to start the game, giving the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
He was able to avoid further runs coming across, as he picked off left fielder Daylen Lille at second base, struck out center fielder Jacob Young and then catcher Joey Bart threw shortstop CJ Abrams out at second base for an inning-ending double play.
Keller would give up a solo home run to Abrams in the top of the third inning, who hit a sweeper on the inside corner and sent it 389 feet into the right field seats to make it a 4-1 game.
He then gave up a single, a walk and then an RBI-single to first baseman Luis García Jr. in the top of the fourth inning, as the Nationals established a 5-1 lead.
Keller gave up two hits each of his four-seam fastball and his sweeper and the Nationals got good contact on his changeup, sinker and curveball too.
It was a rare poor start for Keller, who will look to bounce back next time out and get back to what has done most of 2026, which is pitch deep into outings and get weak contact for quick outs.
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Four-Seam Fastball | 25/90 (28%) | 93.6 mph |
Sweeper | 18/90 (20%) | 82.2 mph |
Changeup | 17/90 (19%) | 88.6 mph |
Sinker | 13/90 (14%) | 92.6 mph |
Curveball | 10/90 (11%) | 78.2 mph |
Slider | 7/90 (8%) | 88.9 mph |
The Pirates bullpen had a great showing, as right-handed pitcher Yohan Ramírez threw two scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 1.54 on the season. Left-handed pitcher Mason Montgomery also threw a scoreless seventh inning, his thrid straight scoreless inning.
Right-handed pitcher Isaac Mattson almost gave up a run in the top of the eighth inning, but Jake Mangum, who came in at left field after pinch-hitting, made an incredible throw home for Bart to tag out Abrams at the plate to keep it a one-run game.
Mattson threw a scoreless ninth inning and the Pirates got five scoreless innings from their bullpen, massive need after Keller went shorter than expected in his outing.
Pirates Offense
The Pirates fell behind early, but that doesn't mean they gave up and let the Nationals blow them out.
Second baseman Brandon Lowe continued his great stretch of play, as he hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to trim the deficit to 3-1.
Lowe hit a sweeper on the hands and put it into the right field seats for his team-leading seventh home run of the season.
He is one of three Pirates to hit four home runs or more and 11 RBI or more over a three-game span, along with Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, who did it twice from Aug. 14-16, 1947 and Sept. 11-14, 1949, plus Jose Castillo from May 29-31, 2006.
The Pirates got going again in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Lowe and left fielder Bryan Reynolds ledoff with back-to-back walks and then designated hitter Marcell Ozuna doubled to left fiel, scoring Lowe to trim the deficit to 5-2.
Third baseman Nick Gonzales would ground out in the next at-bat, but it was deep enough to score Reynolds to make it a 5-3 game.
Bart would then hit a low-outside sweeper off of Nationals right-handed pitcher Miles Mikolas, which ended up going 383 feet and just over the outstretched glove of Lille and into the left field bleachers for a solo home run.
That marked the first home run for Bart this season and also got the Nationals' lead down to 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth innning.
Pittsburgh then had a chance to tie or take the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, with pinch-hitter Jake Mangum and shortstop Konnor Griffin leading off with back-to-back singles.
Bart struck out, center fielder Oneil Cruz reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases and then Pirates manager had right-handed batter Nick Yorke come in for the lefty Lowe to face southpaw Cionel Pérez.
That move didn't work, as Yorke would ground out into a double play, keeping the Nationals ahead 5-4.
Griffin hit a double with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning and Bart walked after him, but Cruz struck out and Yorke popped out to end the game with a loss for the Pirates.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.