Nats tee off on Kuhl 12-4

Chad Kuhl had held the Nationals’ right-handed batters to 0-for-10, but the lefties were 4-for-9 with four homers. Not a single ball landed safely on the playing field, but that didn’t prevent Kuhl from allowing six runs in only four and ²⁄₃ innings.

The first eight batters went fairly uneventfully, with only a walk to Trea Turner, but then in the bottom of the third Wilmer Difo drove a ball deep into the right center seats. An inning later old nemesis Matt Adams followed with a no doubt shot to right. For awhile the Pirates were only down 2-0 as Matt Scherzer held the in check, but the wheels came off in the fifth as with one out Scherzer reached on the second of two booted grounders on the night by third baseman Colin Moran, followed by a walk to Difo and Bryce Harper’s ninth homer of the year to left center. One out later Adams went to the same place with his second of the night and Kuhl was done.

At that point, I was seeing that Tyler Glasnow had a lower season ERA than Kuhl, but once in the game, everything from Glasnow that hit a Washington bat seemed to fall for a hit. Nine batters, four hits and two walks made for six runs in just an inning.

Richard Rodriguez finished up with two and third scoreless innings, continuing his stellar work since being recalled. Corey Dickerson hit his own long homer to chase Scherzer in the seventh, his second in two games, and Max Moroff homered in the ninth.

Down two games to none in the series and a half game back of the Cubs and Brewers in the standings, the Pirates will have another go at the Nationals Wednesday night at 7:05 as Ivan Nova is scheduled to face Steven Strasburg.