• Ballgame. Yorke pops out. Pirates fight back but fall short. They fall to 10-7. Based on teams that play on the North Shore, the Pirates will win their division and lose in the first round of the playoffs. Nationals, 5-4
• Cruz strikes out. His hit streak will end at 12 games. Two down. It's up to Yorke.
• Bart works a walk. Cruz coming to the plate, runners on first and second. Billy Cook is running for Bart.
• Mangum flies out, but Griffin follows with a double to right field. Tying run is in scoring position.
• Mattson pitches a clean ninth inning. Mangum, Griffin and Bart are due up in the home half. Down one run. Gus Varland is coming in to close this out for the Nationals.
• Gonzales grounds out to end the eighth. It looks like Mattson will pitch the ninth.
• Ozuna is robbed of extra bases by Lile in left field. A great diving catch not only records the second out, but might have prevented O'Hearn from scoring.
• O'Hearn walks with one out in the eighth. Ozuna coming to the plate. Butera opts to bring in the right-hander Clayton Beeter from the bullpen.
• Reynolds lines one 103.1 mph, but right at Perez on the mound, who's able to snag it. Wow.
• Isaac Mattson gives up a lead-off double to CJ Abrams, gets the next two batters out. José Tena comes in to pinch hit, rips a single into left field, but Jake Mangum guns down Abrams at home. It had to be a perfect throw and it was. Keeps it a one-run game heading to the bottom of the eighth.
• Isaac Mattson is now on the mound for the Pirates. Yorke stays in the game at third base. O'Hearn moves to first base. Gonzales goes to second. Mangum goes to left field. Reynolds in now over in right field.
• Yorke grounds into a 4-3 double play to end the threat. Man. That managing decision by Kelly could be a killer.
• A little surprised here. Kelly opts to pinch hit for Lowe, bringing in Nick Yorke. Butera then goes to his bullpen, bringing in Cionel Pérez. Yorke's been hitting well, but Lowe's been one of the hottest hitters in baseball.
• Cruz reaches on a fielder's choice and throwing error by the first baseman. Bases loaded with one out.
• Bart strikes out swinging. Cruz coming to the plate.
• Griffin keeps it going, ripping a slider into left field. Runners on first and second with nobody out for Bart. LOTS of speed on the bases.
• Paid attendance: 9,423
• Mangum leads off with a single through the left side of the infield.
• Jake Mangum will pinch hit for Horwitz to lead off the home half of the seventh.
• The two-out double doesn't come back to hurt Montgomery. He strikes out Lile to end the inning. Stretch time.
• House extends the Washington seventh with a two-out double.
• Curtis Mead came in to pinch hit for Garcia. He popped out to third base in foul territory.
• Gonzales strikes out swinging. Onto the seventh. Mason Montgomery is coming in to pitch for the Pirates.
• Ozuna has reached three times tonight. This third time is via error, but it extends the sixth.
• Ramirez has helped put out the fire with two perfect innings out of the bullpen.
• Bart loses one of the Pirates' ABS challenges on a pitch that was 2.7 inches off the plate.
• Lowe goes down swinging. Had a hard time with Parker's slider. Pirates chipping away. Down just one run now heading to the sixth.
• Cruz gets rung up on a third strike. He challenges and wins on a pitch that was ruled less than 1/10th of an inch out of the zone. He ends up striking out swinging.
• Left-hander Mitchell Parker is in to pitch for the Nationals. He'll face Cruz first.
• HOME RUN: Daylen Lile had a chance to rob it, but Joey Bart gets enough of a sweeper from Miles Mikolas to put it over the left-field wall. That chases Mikolas out of the game with one out in the fifth. Nationals, 5-4
• Ramirez pitches a perfect fifth inning.
• Horwitz flies out to end the Pittsburgh fourth. But, they get two runs back. Yohan Ramirez is coming in to pitch for the Pirates.
• RUN: Nick Gonzales manufactures a run, driving in Bryan Reynolds on an RBI groundout. Nationals, 5-3
• RUN: Marcell Ozuna just needed to see the Nationals. He's now 2 for 2, his second hit an RBI double that drives in Brandon Lowe. Nationals, 5-2
• Lowe walks to start the home half of the fourth. Then Reynolds walks, winning an ABS challenge to turn a called third strike into ball four.
• Keller gets House to ground out to end the fourth. But that'll likely be it for him. He's at 92 pitches.
• RUN: Luis Garcia adds on another run. RBI single with two outs in the fourth. Mitch Keller just doesn't have it tonight. Nationals, 5-1
• The Pirates go 1-2-3 in the home half of the third.
• Keller only gives up the one hit in the third, but it's the solo homer by Abrams.
• HOME RUN: CJ Abrams blasts a 1-1 sweeper down the right field line for a solo homer in the third inning. Nationals, 4-1
• Horwitz flies out to end the home half of the second.
• Gonzales grounds into a 6-4-3 double play. Two down.
• Ozuna leads off the second with a single hit into the right field corner. If he had any speed, that would have been a double.
• Miles Mikolas now takes the mound for the Nationals.
• Keller gets Wood looking at a backdoor sweeper. Then gets Garcia to ground out to second. No damage in the Washington second.
• Yikes. Keller with a hit-by-pitch and walk in the Washington second. Wood's coming to the plate with two on and one out.
• O'Hearn grounds into a 4-6-3 double play to end the Pittsburgh first. They at least get one run back.
• Reynolds singles through the left side of the infield. Great at-bat. Made Poulin throw nine pitches.
• HOME RUN: Brandon Lowe keeps swinging a hot bat. He blasts his seventh homer of the season, a solo shot to right field. Nationals, 3-1
• Cruz strikes out on three pitches to start the Pittsburgh first. All three pitches looked at, all three very much in the zone.
• Keller gets a much-needed strike-'em-out-throw-'em-out double play to end the inning. He gets Young swinging while Bart nabs Abrams trying to steal second. Still, 29 pitches for Keller in the first. Three runs. Not ideal.
• Lile tried to get cute at second base. Keller picks him off. Just a dumb play by Lile. Why bother?
• RUN: Oh, boy. CJ Abrams now drives in a run. 23 pitches for Keller in the first. Three runs, no outs. Not good. Nationals, 3-0
• RUN: Another RBI single. This one off the bat of Daylen Lile. Still nobody out in the Washington first. Nationals, 2-0
• RUN: James Wood steals third base, then Brady House hits one up the middle for an RBI single. Mitch Keller has thrown 16 pitches and has yet to record an out in the first inning. Nationals, 1-0
• Keller then walks Garcia. Two on, nobody out.
• Keller starts with a four-pitch walk of Wood.
• FIRST PITCH:Mitch Keller fires in ball one and we're underway at PNC Park.
• Tonight's estimated first pitch is schedule for 6:55 p.m., just a 15-minute delay.
• The tarp is coming off the field.
• Tonight's game is officially in a rain delay. There is no scheduled first pitch at this time.
• Don Kelly's lineup:
1. Oneil Cruz, CF 2. Brandon Lowe, 2B 3. Bryan Reynolds, LF 4. Ryan O'Hearn, RF 5. Marcell Ozuna, DH 6. Nick Gonzales, 3B 7. Spencer Horwitz, 1B 8. Konnor Griffin, SS 9. Joey Bart, C
• Blake Butera's lineup for the visiting Nationals:
1. James Wood, RF 2. Luis García, 1B 3. Brady House, DH 4. Daylen Lile, LF 5. CJ Abrams, SS 6. Jacob Young, CF 7. Jorbit Vivas, 3B 8. Drew Millas, C 9. Nasim Nuñez, 2B
THE ASYLUM
Final: Nationals 5, Pirates 4
• Who: Pirates (10-6) vs. Nationals (7-9)
• What: MLB regular season, Game 17
• When: 6:40 p.m.
• Where: PNC Park
• Pitchers: RHP Mitch Keller (1-0, 1.00 ERA) vs. LHP PJ Poulin (2-0, 4.00)
• TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh, Nationals.TV
• Stream: SNP 360 (local), MLB.tv (out of market)
• Radio: Pirates Radio Network
• Satellite: SiriusXM 175/861
• Boxscore: MLB.com
• Media notes: Pirates | Nationals
► FOLLOW ALONG
• Ballgame. Yorke pops out. Pirates fight back but fall short. They fall to 10-7. Based on teams that play on the North Shore, the Pirates will win their division and lose in the first round of the playoffs. Nationals, 5-4
• Cruz strikes out. His hit streak will end at 12 games. Two down. It's up to Yorke.
• Bart works a walk. Cruz coming to the plate, runners on first and second. Billy Cook is running for Bart.
• Mangum flies out, but Griffin follows with a double to right field. Tying run is in scoring position.
• Mattson pitches a clean ninth inning. Mangum, Griffin and Bart are due up in the home half. Down one run. Gus Varland is coming in to close this out for the Nationals.
• Gonzales grounds out to end the eighth. It looks like Mattson will pitch the ninth.
• Ozuna is robbed of extra bases by Lile in left field. A great diving catch not only records the second out, but might have prevented O'Hearn from scoring.
• O'Hearn walks with one out in the eighth. Ozuna coming to the plate. Butera opts to bring in the right-hander Clayton Beeter from the bullpen.
• Reynolds lines one 103.1 mph, but right at Perez on the mound, who's able to snag it. Wow.
• Isaac Mattson gives up a lead-off double to CJ Abrams, gets the next two batters out. José Tena comes in to pinch hit, rips a single into left field, but Jake Mangum guns down Abrams at home. It had to be a perfect throw and it was. Keeps it a one-run game heading to the bottom of the eighth.
• Isaac Mattson is now on the mound for the Pirates. Yorke stays in the game at third base. O'Hearn moves to first base. Gonzales goes to second. Mangum goes to left field. Reynolds in now over in right field.
• Yorke grounds into a 4-3 double play to end the threat. Man. That managing decision by Kelly could be a killer.
• A little surprised here. Kelly opts to pinch hit for Lowe, bringing in Nick Yorke. Butera then goes to his bullpen, bringing in Cionel Pérez. Yorke's been hitting well, but Lowe's been one of the hottest hitters in baseball.
• Cruz reaches on a fielder's choice and throwing error by the first baseman. Bases loaded with one out.
• Bart strikes out swinging. Cruz coming to the plate.
• Griffin keeps it going, ripping a slider into left field. Runners on first and second with nobody out for Bart. LOTS of speed on the bases.
• Paid attendance: 9,423
• Mangum leads off with a single through the left side of the infield.
• Jake Mangum will pinch hit for Horwitz to lead off the home half of the seventh.
• The two-out double doesn't come back to hurt Montgomery. He strikes out Lile to end the inning. Stretch time.
• House extends the Washington seventh with a two-out double.
• Curtis Mead came in to pinch hit for Garcia. He popped out to third base in foul territory.
• Gonzales strikes out swinging. Onto the seventh. Mason Montgomery is coming in to pitch for the Pirates.
• Ozuna has reached three times tonight. This third time is via error, but it extends the sixth.
• Ramirez has helped put out the fire with two perfect innings out of the bullpen.
• Bart loses one of the Pirates' ABS challenges on a pitch that was 2.7 inches off the plate.
• Lowe goes down swinging. Had a hard time with Parker's slider. Pirates chipping away. Down just one run now heading to the sixth.
• Cruz gets rung up on a third strike. He challenges and wins on a pitch that was ruled less than 1/10th of an inch out of the zone. He ends up striking out swinging.
• Left-hander Mitchell Parker is in to pitch for the Nationals. He'll face Cruz first.
• HOME RUN: Daylen Lile had a chance to rob it, but Joey Bart gets enough of a sweeper from Miles Mikolas to put it over the left-field wall. That chases Mikolas out of the game with one out in the fifth. Nationals, 5-4
• Ramirez pitches a perfect fifth inning.
• Horwitz flies out to end the Pittsburgh fourth. But, they get two runs back. Yohan Ramirez is coming in to pitch for the Pirates.
• RUN: Nick Gonzales manufactures a run, driving in Bryan Reynolds on an RBI groundout. Nationals, 5-3
• RUN: Marcell Ozuna just needed to see the Nationals. He's now 2 for 2, his second hit an RBI double that drives in Brandon Lowe. Nationals, 5-2
• Lowe walks to start the home half of the fourth. Then Reynolds walks, winning an ABS challenge to turn a called third strike into ball four.
• Keller gets House to ground out to end the fourth. But that'll likely be it for him. He's at 92 pitches.
• RUN: Luis Garcia adds on another run. RBI single with two outs in the fourth. Mitch Keller just doesn't have it tonight. Nationals, 5-1
• The Pirates go 1-2-3 in the home half of the third.
• Keller only gives up the one hit in the third, but it's the solo homer by Abrams.
• HOME RUN: CJ Abrams blasts a 1-1 sweeper down the right field line for a solo homer in the third inning. Nationals, 4-1
• Horwitz flies out to end the home half of the second.
• Gonzales grounds into a 6-4-3 double play. Two down.
• Ozuna leads off the second with a single hit into the right field corner. If he had any speed, that would have been a double.
• Miles Mikolas now takes the mound for the Nationals.
• Keller gets Wood looking at a backdoor sweeper. Then gets Garcia to ground out to second. No damage in the Washington second.
• Yikes. Keller with a hit-by-pitch and walk in the Washington second. Wood's coming to the plate with two on and one out.
• O'Hearn grounds into a 4-6-3 double play to end the Pittsburgh first. They at least get one run back.
• Reynolds singles through the left side of the infield. Great at-bat. Made Poulin throw nine pitches.
• HOME RUN: Brandon Lowe keeps swinging a hot bat. He blasts his seventh homer of the season, a solo shot to right field. Nationals, 3-1
• Cruz strikes out on three pitches to start the Pittsburgh first. All three pitches looked at, all three very much in the zone.
• Keller gets a much-needed strike-'em-out-throw-'em-out double play to end the inning. He gets Young swinging while Bart nabs Abrams trying to steal second. Still, 29 pitches for Keller in the first. Three runs. Not ideal.
• Lile tried to get cute at second base. Keller picks him off. Just a dumb play by Lile. Why bother?
• RUN: Oh, boy. CJ Abrams now drives in a run. 23 pitches for Keller in the first. Three runs, no outs. Not good. Nationals, 3-0
• RUN: Another RBI single. This one off the bat of Daylen Lile. Still nobody out in the Washington first. Nationals, 2-0
• RUN: James Wood steals third base, then Brady House hits one up the middle for an RBI single. Mitch Keller has thrown 16 pitches and has yet to record an out in the first inning. Nationals, 1-0
• Keller then walks Garcia. Two on, nobody out.
• Keller starts with a four-pitch walk of Wood.
• FIRST PITCH: Mitch Keller fires in ball one and we're underway at PNC Park.
• Tonight's estimated first pitch is schedule for 6:55 p.m., just a 15-minute delay.
• The tarp is coming off the field.
• Tonight's game is officially in a rain delay. There is no scheduled first pitch at this time.
• Don Kelly's lineup:
1. Oneil Cruz, CF
2. Brandon Lowe, 2B
3. Bryan Reynolds, LF
4. Ryan O'Hearn, RF
5. Marcell Ozuna, DH
6. Nick Gonzales, 3B
7. Spencer Horwitz, 1B
8. Konnor Griffin, SS
9. Joey Bart, C
• Blake Butera's lineup for the visiting Nationals:
1. James Wood, RF
2. Luis García, 1B
3. Brady House, DH
4. Daylen Lile, LF
5. CJ Abrams, SS
6. Jacob Young, CF
7. Jorbit Vivas, 3B
8. Drew Millas, C
9. Nasim Nuñez, 2B
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