PITTSBURGH – The Nationals got the job done in Game 1 of today’s doubleheader against the Pirates. DJ Herz tossed five no-hit innings before departing with his pitch count at 87. Dylan Crews homered, doubled and drove in two runs. The bullpen hung on, with Kyle Finnegan barely surviving another harrowing ninth inning to close out a 5-3 victory.
Now it’s onto the nightcap, with the Nats hoping for a rare doubleheader sweep behind another rookie left-hander on the mound. Mitchell Parker makes his 26th big league start, and his 25th was perhaps his strangest yet. He struck out eight and walked only one but gave up four runs over six innings, done in by some terrible defense that included an errant pickoff throw of his own. There’s only so much Parker can control, but if he can simply make the few plays he has to make in the field, he’ll help his cause a lot.
Davey Martinez has a couple of lineup changes from the opener. Jacob Young gets a rare night off, out of the lineup for the first time since July 31. That opens up center field to Dylan Crews for the first time in his brief major league career. Drew Millas will catch Parker, but Keibert Ruiz is still in there, serving as designated hitter against Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 65 degrees, wind 13 mph out to center field
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
1B Andrés Chaparro
2B Luis García Jr.
DH Keibert Ruiz
3B José Tena
CF Dylan Crews
RF Joey Gallo
C Drew Millas
LHP Mitchell Parker
PIRATES
SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa
DH Bryan Reynolds
CF Oneil Cruz
RF Connor Joe
3B Jared Triolo
1B Rowdy Tellez
C Yasmani Grandal
LF Michael A. Taylor
2B Alika Williams
RHP Mitch Keller