WASHINGTON -- Felipe Vazquez is used to life on the edge as a closer.
Sunday against the Nationals, he walked the edge a little more than he probably would have liked.
After a bunt single by Adam Eaton loaded the bases with one out in the ninth inning, Vazquez retired red-hot Howie Kendrick and Anthony Rendon back-to-back to finish off a two-inning appearance, as the Pirates won the series against Washington with a 3-2 victory here.
The win was as exciting as a mid-April baseball gets, with rookie Jason Martin driving in Josh Bell with a two-out double on a 1-2 pitch in the top of the ninth inning to give the Pirates (8-6) a chance at the victory.
But while Martin's heroics were great, it was Vazquez pitching out of a jam against the Nationals' two hottest hitters that had everyone buzzing.
"You can't script a series any better than this one played out for fans, for baseball, the second week of the season," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Rendon against Vazquez. Yeah, it was electric."
With the game tied at 3-3 in the eighth, Hurdle made the decision to bring out his closer. The Pirates have been struggling mightily in that inning, no matter who they seemed to put in that spot.
But Vazquez (1-0) got through the inning with a walk to Rendon -- who had earlier extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games -- and a two-out single by Ryan Zimmerman.
When the Pirates scored off reliever Wander Suero (1-1), that put Vazquez in position for the victory.
Pinch-hitter Victor Robles started the inning with a single to left before Vazquez struck out Brian Dozier for the first out. But he then walked No. 9 hitter Michael Taylor and leadoff batter Eaton laid down a perfect bunt down the third base line for a single to load the bases.
That brought Kendrick, who had two hits earlier in the game and is batting .523, to the plate with the bases loaded and one out.
But Vazquez caught the veteran looking at a 99 MPH fastball down and in for the second out to bring Rendon to the plate.
Vazquez, who was at 40 pitches, didn't flinch.
"I don't care who it is. I know him. I know he can hit," said Vazquez, who was with the Nationals before being traded to the Pirates in 2016. "But I'm better than him. That was a really good matchup."
What gave him that knowledge?
"It's just confidence. You have to be confident of what you can do. Every time I go out there, I feel comfortable. That's the confidence the team has in me. They gave me two innings today."
On his 42nd pitch of the game, Vazquez hit 100 MPH on the radar gun. On his 43rd pitch, he got Rendon to do this:
Ballgame.
Earlier in the at bat, catcher Francisco Cervelli called time to talk to his pitcher. They talked about how they wanted to pitch Rendon.
Vazquez was clear with his intentions.
"He was not looking for a fastball. And that's all I had for him," Vazquez said. "I was not throwing a breaking ball at all. When Cervi came (out), he was like, 'What do you want?' I said fastball, fastball, fastball. That's my best pitch. What am I supposed to do? I stuck with the fastball."
It was a gutsy performance, and with the day off before the Pirates head to Detroit for a two-game series that starts Tuesday, they'll get to enjoy taking two out of three games against a solid team such as the Nationals and talk about Vazquez's performance.
"The guy is incredibly talented. When you see him hit 100 on his 42nd pitch, basically, we saw the velocity trend up throughout the outing," Hurdle said. "And just the focus, the competitive spirit when you're going against a guy who has a 10-game extra base hit streak going. He's gotten a hit earlier and the bases are loaded. It's all good stuff. And he loves those situations."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE GOOD
Martin's ninth-inning game-winning hit had his teammates buzzing. Acquired as part of the trade with the Astros for Gerrit Cole last year, Martin was expected to begin the season in Class AAA after tearing up Class AA pitching in 2018.
But a rash of injuries in the outfield led to the 23-year-old getting called up, and he's proven to be a valuable player. His double off Suero was his second, and he's batting .353 in 17 plate appearances.
He was in the lineup Sunday against three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer to give the Pirates another left-handed batter, but he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in those matchups before his game-winning hit.
"When you're trying to match guys up, you put a guy in there you think is going to get a swing off against a fastball, and Scherzer threw him some fastballs and he took some fastballs," Hurdle said. "He hit a curveball. It just goes to show you the baseball expert I can be from time to time. It was beautiful. They were jumping up and down on him when he came into the dugout, and rightfully so."
Martin said he was just trying to put the bat on the ball with two outs and Bell on second in a tie game. Suero threw him a 1-2 curveball and Martin did this:
"It makes me feel good, about the team, about myself," Martin said. "It feels great. It's great for the team to be able to take two of three against a good club."
Bell was impressed.
"In a situation like that, with two strikes, shortening up and putting the bat on the ball like that, it was just clutch baseball," he said.
THE BAD
The pitching matchup between Jameson Taillon and Scherzer was expected to be a good one. But the Pirates put two runs on the board in the first inning on an RBI double by Bell and run-scoring single by Colin Moran.
But the Nationals answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first.
And by the end of three innings, the score was tied at 3-3. So much for the pitcher's duel.
"We put up two in the first, so you had to be happy with that," said Taillon. "It lets you pitch with a little more freedom. Then I cough it up right away. It was fun. It was impressive to see how he gave up a couple early and then pitch away."
Taillon, who was knocked out of his last outing after just two innings when he was hit with a line drive, ended up fighting his way through six innings, allowing seven hits and just the three runs. He struck out four.
Scherzer, meanwhile, settled in, holding the Pirates scoreless in his final five innings. He allowed three runs in eight innings, striking out seven and giving up seven hits.
One of those hits was this drive by Taillon on which he managed only a single:
"I already talked with our first base coach about it," Taillon said of Kimera Bartee. "I'm blaming him. He told me with no outs to stay. I haven't slid since I was probably 12 years old, so let's just keep it at one. We've got the top of the lineup coming up. Yeah. Thinking about it now, it would have been cool to say I got a double off Scherzer, but I'm good with it.
"If you've seen me hit, I'm just happy to have put a ball in play against him. He's tough."
THE OTHER SIDE
With Scherzer on the mound, the Pirates knew they were going to have to be aggressive. The right-hander threw 22 pitches in the first inning, 18 of which were strikes. And the Pirates came out swinging against him.
"He's just really tough," said Bell, who had a pair of doubles off the Nationals' ace. "You know you're going to see 95 (MPH) and he has kind of a sidearm delivery."
Despite getting him to throw a lot of pitches in the first, Scherzer settled in after that and made it through eight innings on 98 pitches, 71 of which were strikes.
"You get excited when you know you've got a guy like that going against you on the other side," Taillon said.
THE DATA
• Bell now has hit safely in six of the Pirates' last seven games and has raised his batting average to .314.
• Rookie Nick Burdi pitched a scoreless seventh inning. The Rule 5 pickup has now gone five consecutive outings without allowing a run, a span of five innings pitched.
• Adam Frazier had a pair of hits and a walk in the leadoff spot for the Pirates, scoring twice.
• Moran continues to swing a hot bat with runners in scoring position. He singled twice with Bell on second in this game to make him 6-for-10 with eight RBIs in those situations.
• Despite extending his hitting streak to 13 games, Rendon had his consecutive games streak with an extra base hit stopped at 10 games.
• Vazquez grounded out to short to end the eighth inning. It was just his fourth career at-bat and the first time he's put a ball in play. His last at-bat came June 27, 2018 against the Mets.
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 6-for-12 with two doubles and three RBIs in three 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 went 2-for-5 with two RBI and two stolen bases in his first rehab start in Class AAA Saturday. He was 2-for-13 with two RBIs, four walks and two strikeouts in four games with Class A Bradenton.
• Dovydas Neverauskas, right-handed reliever, is recovering from a strained left oblique and has had his rehab assignment moved to Indianapolis from Bradenton. He struck out all three batters he faced in his first outing Saturday with the Indians. 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 are off Monday for a travel day to Detroit. Tuesday's starters will be Joe Musgrove (1-1, 0.00) vs. Matthew Boyd (1-1, 2.60). John Perrotto will be in Detroit with the coverage.
THE COVERAGE
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