Joey Bart hit a two-run home run, rookie Jared Jones pitched seven strong innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the visiting Washington Nationals 7-3 on Sunday to earn a split of the four-game series.
Andrew McCutchen and former National Michael A. Taylor added sole home runs for the Pirates (67-76), who bounced back after a doubleheader sweep on Saturday.
Pittsburgh first baseman Billy Cook, called up Sunday from Triple-A Indianapolis, had a two-run double and a single in his major league debut.
Jones (6-7) allowed two runs on four hits and struck out nine without a walk.
CJ Abrams homered for the Nationals (64-79).
Washington starter Patrick Corbin (5-13), who had won his past three starts, allowed seven runs on 10 hits in six innings. He struck out five without a walk.
Abrams led off the game against Jones with his 19th homer of the season.
The Pirates answered in their half of the inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled leading off and went to second on a wild pitch with one out. Bart then lined a two-run homer to left to make it 2-1.
With two outs, Nick Gonzales singled and Bryan De La Cruz doubled him to third. Both runners scored on Cook’s ground-rule double and the lead was 4-1.
Washington cut the deficit to 4-2 in the second. Keibert Ruiz and Jose Tena opened with singles and Ruiz later scored on a two-out single by Jacob Young.
McCutchen led off the bottom of the third with his 19th home run of the season to make it 5-2.
Alika Williams doubled leading off the Pittsburgh fourth, went to third on a fielder’s choice and beat the throw home on Bryan Reynolds’ grounder to second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. for a 6-2 edge.
Taylor led off the bottom of the sixth with a homer to left center to make it 7-2, and Washington’s Andres Chaparro doubled home James Wood in the ninth for the 7-3 final.
–Field Level Media
