After the slumping Pittsburgh offense finally broke through, the Pirates will try to keep the momentum going against the visiting Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.
The Nationals are looking to snap a three-game losing streak and will send Jake Irvin (0-0, 5.63 ERA) to the mound to face Pirates starter Mitch Keller (1-1, 4.24).
What remains to be seen is if Pittsburgh’s Monday offensive explosion, which ended with season highs for runs (10) and hits (14) was a fluke or the start of something positive.
A new accessory to the Pirates’ in-game attire was introduced on Monday by veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen.
McCutchen gifted all of his teammates black and yellow necklaces like the ones he has worn in the past. The Pittsburgh players wore them as they put together a 10-3 win.
“It’s kinda cool that we were able to do something as a team and then it translate into a game and us have the game we had today,” McCutchen said. “You can say coincidence, I guess. I think it’s more these are the things you do as a team sometimes to win ballgames.”
Keller, who is 1-2 with a 5.00 ERA in five career starts against Washington, could have used some of that run support when he tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. He ended up with a no-decision after the Pirates could not score a run before he exited the game, and the Pirates went on to lose 2-1 in 13 innings. It was Keller’s longest scoreless outing since Sept. 14, 2023.
“He was outstanding and he was efficient,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said after that contest. “That’s the kind of game where later in the year he might go back out for the ninth inning.”
Washington pitching has surrendered 28 runs over the past three games during the losing streak.
Irvin, who struck out seven but allowed four runs over six innings in his start against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, will try to reverse that trend. Irvin lost his lone career start against the Pirates on Sept. 5, 2024, after giving up six runs on seven hits in five innings.
The key for Irvin might be getting off to a better start. He surrendered a single, a walk, a triple and a home run to Teoscar Hernandez to open the game against Los Angeles, but then he did not allow another runner to reach third base.
“From the jump, that’s not how you draw it up, but I wouldn’t say there were too many pitches where I thought this would go south quickly so I just tried to stay in attack mode,” Irvin said after the start.
Washington’s Josh Bell has struggled so far this season, hitting .154 after going 0-for-4 on Monday, but has had the most success of any Nationals hitter against Keller: 6-for-9 with a home run and four walks.
Although it’s only been 16 games, the pressure could be mounting for the Nationals and manager Davey Martinez to avoid falling into a major hole so early in the season.
“We’re a resilient club,” Irvin said. “We’ve been in every single ballgame. That’s been kind of what we’ve been preaching. Stay in the game. Do what you can and claw back if we’re behind and keep that lead if you’re ahead.”
–Field Level Media
