Pittsburgh Pirates Top Nationals in 18-Inning Marathon
The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to find ways to win, and Sunday’s game was the perfect example, with the Bucs claiming victory over the Nationals in 18 innings.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have reached a crucial part of their season. How they perform in the coming weeks will dictate whether they buy, sell, or stand pat at the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline. On the other side of Sunday’s matchup, the Washington Nationals currently hold a six-game lead in the NL East, and look primed for a deep playoff run. Entering Sunday’s contest, the season series between the two teams stood at 2-0 in favor as the Nationals, as this weekend was their first series facing off.
The starters in Sunday’s game were Chad Kuhl for the Pirates and Max Scherzer for the Nationals. Both provided excellent performances for their clubs. Kuhl pitched six scoreless innings while only giving up one hit, and Scherzer pitched seven innings of one-run ball. The Pirates scored their first run on an RBI double by Starling Marte in the top of the sixth inning and held their slim 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
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Star closer Mark Melancon entered the game to shut the door for the Pirates, and he retired the first two batters he faced. The Nationals sent pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and he delivered. Murphy hit a solo home run, his 18th of the year, to tie the contest 1-1. Melancon retired Jayson Werth shortly after Murphy’s home run, but the damage had been done. The blown save was only his second of the season, and the Nationals had found new life.
A duel of the opposing bullpens ensued for inning after inning. Neither side gave up a run in innings 10-17, and the number of available arms for each team dwindled as the game wore on. After many hard-fought innings, the Pirates’ Starling Marte finally broke the tie in the bottom of the eighteenth. Facing lefty Oliver Perez with nobody on and two outs, he provided a go-ahead home run for the Bucs. The game ended as the longest game in Nationals history and the second-longest game this season, second to only the Blue Jays/Indians 19-inning contest on July 1.
While the game was largely marked by excellent pitching from both sides, there were a few things of note offensively for each team as well. Marte finished 3-for-7 with a home run and both of his team’s RBI. Andrew McCutchen, still in the midst of a down year, posted an unbelievably bad 0-for-8 line. Rookie utility man Adam Frazier finished an efficient 3-for-6 with three doubles and two walks while manning the leadoff spot. For the Nationals, only one player provided more than one hit, and that was young second baseman Trea Turner, who went 2-for-7 with four strikeouts.
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Starters-turned-relievers Juan Nicasio and Jon Niese proved to be the difference for Pittsburgh, combining to pitch six scoreless frames to end the game. Both have had their fair share of struggles this season, but they came up big for their team last night. Both teams combined to use 17 pitchers, and the teams combined for only 20 hits. It was a hard-fought battle between the two NL powers, but the Pirates came out on top Sunday.