Nationals' fill-in closers can't close out Pirates (updated)

They got another quality start from Josh Rogers. They got a big blast from Josh Bell in his return to Pittsburgh. The Nationals just needed their bullpen to finish off the Pirates.

A bullpen that featured two unfamiliar people pitching the bottom of the ninth, which ultimately undid the Nats.

Patrick Murphy, given a chance to close with Kyle Finnegan unavailable due to his recent workload, got into a jam and had to give way to Alberto Baldonado, who inherited a second-and-third jam and let the tying and winning runs score in what wound up a disheartening 4-3 loss.

With manager Davey Martinez not in the dugout while serving a one-game suspension levied by Major League Baseball in conjunction with Sean Nolin's five-game suspension for intentionally throwing at Freddie Freeman two nights ago in Atlanta, the Nationals were in position to win despite totaling only three hits against five Pirates pitchers.

They were so thanks to another impressive pitching performance from Rogers, the previously unknown left-hander who was summoned from Triple-A Rochester for a doubleheader start last weekend and earned a chance to stick around for a while. After this showing - two runs allowed in 6 2/3 innings - it's going to be tough not to keep giving him more opportunities.

"One thing you can say about Josh is he's not afraid to challenge people," bench coach Tim Bogar, filling in for Martinez, said in his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "He goes right after them. He did it all night."

But with their bullpen severely taxed all week - Bogar said several pitchers were unavailable, headlined by Finnegan, who threw 18 pitches Wednesday, 30 pitches Monday and both ends of last Saturday's doubleheader - the Nationals had to cobble together the final 2 1/3 innings of this one. That meant Andres Machado for four outs to finish the seventh and complete the eighth. And then it meant Murphy, not de facto closer Finnegan, to start the ninth but quickly getting into trouble via a single, a wild pitch and a walk.

"He came in and threw the first two sliders to the first hitter (for strikes), and then he gave up a base hit and it kind of went sideways on him," Bogar said of Murphy. "He's got to be able to throw strikes there and be competitive."

Murphy did record one out, getting Cole Tucker to pop up, but at that point Bogar opted to turn to Baldonado to face left-handed pinch-hitter Colin Moran rather than intentionally walk him to load the bases. And though Baldonado got Moran to ground out to short, it brought the tying run home. And when Ke'Bryan Hayes lined a single to right moments later, the game was over.

"Our bullpen's been taxed," Bogar said. "Everybody needs a couple days here and there. And tonight was one of those nights for (Finnegan)."

Prior to all that, Bell was the center of attention from the moment he emerged on the field pregame, the Pirates' 2011 second-round pick returning to PNC Park as a visitor for the first time and welcomed back my local media and fans alike. He stepped out of the batter's box and doffed his helmet upon receiving an ovation in the top of the first before drawing the first of his two walks.

"It kind of brought a little bit of a flashback to 2016, my first ovation right when I first got called up," he said. "Different scenario, different team, but it was similar energy. And I thought it was pretty special."

Bell saved his biggest moment for later. With one out in the sixth, he dug in against left-hander Sam Howard, watched his bat go flying to the screen whiffing at strike one, then made the absolute most of his next swing. With a 429-foot drive to left-center, Bell cleared the wall in the deepest crevice of the ballpark for his 26th homer of the season.

"Specifically right-handed, I think that's the best ball that I've hit, especially here," said Bell, who added he never cleared that part of the fence at PNC Park while a member of the home team. "Kudos to (hitting coach) Kevin Long for all the work we've been putting in, in the cage. It's nice to finally see that right-handed."

The blast made Bell the Nationals' new home run leader for the season, topping both Juan Soto and Kyle Schwarber (who hit his 25th way back on June 29). Bell's 81 RBIs trail Soto by only one.

Bell's homer - plus the two runs scored in the top of the second via Carter Kieboom's walk, Riley Adams' triple past a diving Anthony Alford in left field and Lane Thomas' RBI single - provided three runs of support for Rogers, who didn't need much tonight.

The left-hander picked up right where he left off in last weekend's doubleheader against the Mets, rocking, kicking and firing his way through an up-tempo, aggressive start in which he dictated the pace throughout. He struck out only one but walked only one and induced mostly weak contact, keeping his pitch count to a bare minimum.

The Pirates got a run in the third on Tucker's leadoff double and a pair of sacrifices. But by the time he walked off the mound at the end of the sixth, Rogers hadn't allowed anything else, his pitch count a scant 70.

"They hit a good amount of balls pretty hard tonight, but for me, I'm just trying to work fast and throw quality strikes," the left-hander said. "There's a difference between just throwing strikes and executing strikes. The more executed pitches I could make tonight, the quicker they were getting themselves out. And luckily, the defense did a heck of a job, and they were hitting them right at them."

It became decision time for Bogar after the sixth. The Nats bench coach elected to give Rogers a chance to retake the mound for the seventh, then watched as he immediately served up an opposite-field homer to Alford. A two-out infield single to former National Wilmer Difo would bring an end to Rogers' night, and Machado ensured he would remain in line for another win by retiring Hayes to end the inning with the Nationals still ahead 3-2.

If only it remained there and gave Rogers a second straight win.

"I mean, that's baseball," he said. "It is what it is. Obviously, everybody in that locker room was fighting hard and wants to get the win. Hopefully, we'll come back tomorrow, compete and do it again."