WASHINGTON -- With the return of Jung Ho Kang this season, Colin Moran has seen his playing time decrease dramatically following a solid rookie season.
But that doesn't mean he still doesn't have a flair for the dramatic.
Moran came off the bench in the 10th inning Friday night and hammered an 0-2 pitch from reliever Justin Miller into the stands in right field for his second career pinch-hit homer, lifting the Pirates to a 6-3 win over the Nationals.
Moran faced an 0-2 count with Melky Cabrera at third and Adam Frazier at second after allowing the second pitch from Miller, a fast ball down the middle, to sneak by him. He wasn't going to miss another.
"I was like 'What the hell are you looking for?' I kind of just froze. But it worked out in the end," Moran said.
That it did.
On the next pitch, Moran hammered the ball 397 feet as the Pirates (7-5), who had done little against Washington starter Patrick Corbin in seven innings -- managing just four hits and one run with 11 strikeouts -- scored five times in the final three innings.
"Second and third with one out, you're trying to get the ball in the air, get that runner home at all costs. A ground ball to second wasn't a thought," Moran said of his game-winner. "I knew I had a sac fly, so I was excited. Once I knew it was gone, it was big."
Moran hasn't had as many opportunities this season and didn't again for the first nine innings of this game. After appearing in 141 games and getting 465 at-bats last season, he's been relegated to a platoon role with Kang's return to the lineup after a two-year hiatus.
In 11 games this season, he had just 21 at-bats going into Friday's game. But as he did last season, when he was 11-for-26 as a pinch hitter, he found a way to stay involved in a game that lasted nearly 3 1/2 hours.
"Colin was our best pinch-hitter last year, so he's got some experience doing it," Clint Hurdle said. "He got a good swing off. We saw that a lot from him last year coming off the bench. For whatever reason, for a young player, he's got a nice knack for it."
Moran doesn't even know why.
"I wish I could tell you that. I think I do a pretty good job of keeping things simple," he said. "I don't know, it's kind of a crapshoot. You're just trying to get your 'A' swing off and see what happens, really."
It added up to a victory for the Pirates, who got 6 1/3 solid innings from Trevor Williams. Williams allowed two earned runs and four hits before turning things over to the bullpen.
Four relievers combined for 3 2/3 innings, allowing one run, with Richard Rodriguez pitching out of a jam to keep the Pirates in it in the seventh, and rookie Nick Burdi throwing a scoreless ninth to get his first career victory.
Hurdle has talked a lot about needing all 25 players on his roster. He used 17 of them in this game.
"It was perfect. Poster for it all," Hurdle said. "It was hard for seven innings, Corbin was really on. There wasn't a lot happening on offense. Then, we had a really nice eighth inning. We made some plays when we needed to make them. We got some hits when we needed them. We got out of some nice situations on the mound when we needed to. All in all, just a nice game for us."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE GOOD
Pablo Reyes hasn't done much with the bat this season. He came into the game batting just .067 and went 0-for-4 with a walk in this game to drop that average to .053.
But the utility man showed his prowess with the glove in the seventh inning after Williams allowed a leadoff pinch-hit double to Matt Adams.
The Nationals sacrificed Adams to third. And with one out, Rodriguez came in to face leadoff batter Adam Eaton. He got him to hit a sharp ground ball to first baseman Josh Bell, freezing Adams at third.
Then, second baseman Brian Dozier roped a ball into the left field corner that Reyes, getting a spot start, got a great jump on, laying out to make the inning-ending catch and keep the score at 2-1.
"Knowing the point in the game, my desire was that I needed to catch that ball," Reyes said. "When I started running toward the ball, it started tailing away. I thought I wasn't going to be able to catch it. When I was able to catch it, I was relieved. I was glad to get out of that situation."
For Reyes, his mentality is simple. Even though he's not contributing what he would like as a hitter, he can find other ways to stay involved.
"It's been a challenge at the plate right now," Reyes said. "But I grew up with the mentality that if I'm not getting any hits, I'm not going to let anyone get a hit."
It was a big play for the Pirates, who scored a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to take a 3-2 lead on a two-run single by Starling Marte.
The Pirates seemed to feed off of the highlight play.
"It did," Hurdle said when I asked him if that had happened. "It's all about community, though. There are other things that have to happen. That catch keeps us in the game, there's no doubt. We saw him make a couple of catches like that last year. We know he's capable. It's been a slow start offensively, but we tell everybody that you've go to keep playing. Find a way to get something done. That was a big play for us, fully extended."
THE BAD
Moments after taking the lead, setup man Keone Kela gave it back, allowing a home run to Anthony Rendon, the second of the game for the red-hot Nationals third baseman.
Rendon now has an 11-game hitting streak and has an extra base hit in nine consecutive games. He also homered off Williams in the third inning on the only curveball the Pirates' starter threw in his 93-pitch outing.
But Kela, who now has a 7.94 ERA, rallied after allowing the leadoff homer, striking out Juan Soto, then getting a pair of groundouts to short from Ryan Zimmerman and Yan Gomes to end the inning.
Still, the Pirates would like their setup man to get things figured out.
"Keone is fighting, but you give up a home run to the leadoff hitter. Where do you go from there?" Hurdle asked. "Are you going to tap out? He got out of the inning and gave us a chance to continue on. It's been hard for him. He'll pull through it. We're going to need him."
Kang also had another tough night at the plate, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts to see his average dip to .108.
The third baseman is chasing a lot of bad pitches and Hurdle feels it's something Kang will have to play through as he returns to the majors after a two-year layoff.
"He was gone a long time," Hurdle said. "I don't know what that means, but I do know that it has to be really hard."
THE OTHER SIDE
The Nationals came into the game having scored the second most runs in the league, but were stifled for most of the game by Williams. At one point, Williams had allowed three hits -- a homer to Rendon and two to Corbin, including a seeing-eye single in the second inning.
"That's a really good lineup," Williams said. "Rendon is the best player in the league right now."
With his night, 2 for 5 with two homers and two RBI, Rendon is now batting .426 with six homers and 16 RBI through 13 games.
THE DATA
• Marte had nine putouts in center.
• The win was just the fourth in the past 19 games against the Nationals in Washington, a streak that dates back to July 25, 2013.
• After getting one hit in two at-bats after the seventh inning Friday night, Rendon is now 9 for 15 with three home runs after the seventh inning this season.
• The 11 strikeouts were the 11th double digit strikeout game for Corbin in his career.
• Shortstop Erik Gonzalez had two hits for the Pirates, raising his average to .222.
• Right fielder JB Shuck, a left-handed batter, also had two hits, both off of lefties.
THE INJURIES
• Kevin Newman, infielder, was placed on the injured list Thursday with a lacerated right ring finger and there is no timetable for his return.
• Elias Diaz, catcher, is recovering from a virus and has had his rehab assignment moved to Triple-A Indianapolis from Bradenton. He is 3-for-7 with two doubles and two RBIs in two games for Indy. In two games with Bradenton, Diaz was 2-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs, one stolen base, two walks and one strikeout.
• Gregory Polanco, outfielder, is recovering from left shoulder surgery and is on a rehab assignment. He was 2-for-13 with two RBIs, four walks and two strikeouts in four games with Class A Bradenton but has been moved to Class AAA Indianapolis.
• Dovydas Neverauskas, right-handed reliever, is recovering from a strained left oblique and has had his rehab assignment moved to Indianapolis from Bradenton. He pitched a scoreless inning in both his appearances with the Marauders.
• Corey Dickerson, outfielder, has a strained right shoulder. The expectation is for him to be back in late April/early May.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, outfielder is out with a broken right hand and is taking batting practice without restriction.
• Kyle Crick, right-handed reliever, is out with right triceps tightness and played catch for the first time Wednesday.
• Jose Osuna, first baseman/outfielder, is in extended spring training and is participating in all baseball activities. He is expected to begin playing in simulated games next week.
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates will play Washington again Saturday (4:05 p.m.) with Chris Archer (1-0, 2.45) facing righty Anibal Sanchez (0-1, 6.52). I will be providing the coverage throughout the weekend and John Perrotto will be back Tuesday in Detroit.
THE COVERAGE
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