Pirates hold on, beat Nationals 6-4

The Pittsburgh Pirates moved back to the .500 mark Saturday evening with a 6-4 win over the Washington Nationals.

Backup catcher Andrew Knapp got the offensive rhythm started in the second inning with an RBI double to score Jake Marisnick and a Cole Tucker single to bring him home.

Starting pitcher Bryse Wilson kept the Buccos in the game, pitching one-run ball until the fifth inning before Juan Soto took him deep to tie the game. That ended Wilson’s night after 4.1 innings allowing four hits and two runs.

The Pirates responded in the bottom of the fifth with a Michael Chavis RBI single to take a 3-2 lead. Chavis was tonight’s strongest hitter, going 3 for 4, while leadoff hitter Ke’Bryan Hayes stayed at the .400 mark with a 2 for 4 evening.

Tonight’s winning pitcher Dillon Peters pitched two no-hit innings to get his second win of the young season and helped bring the Pirates to the late innings with a lead. He gave the ball to David Bednar, who surprisingly entered the game in the seventh inning, but extended the Pirates lead to the top of the ninth.

Luckily, the Pirates grabbed three insurance runs in the eighth inning because Chris Stratton allowed a pair of ninth inning runs to end the game in a 6-4 win.

The Pirates will look to take the series win tomorrow afternoon at PNC. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. EST.