DJ Herz logged five no-hit innings as the Washington Nationals topped the host Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 on Saturday afternoon in the opener of a split doubleheader.
Herz (3-7) walked three and struck out five while keeping Pittsburgh (66-75) off the board to record his first win since Aug. 3.
Robert Garcia worked a 1-2-3 sixth before setting down the first two batters of the seventh, but Nick Gonzales then broke up the combined no-hitter with a single up the middle.
Jacob Barnes took over on the mound and coughed up the shutout, as pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez clubbed a 443-foot two-run shot to cut the Pirates’ 4-0 deficit in half. It was Tellez’s 13th homer of the season.
Derek Law pitched a perfect eighth and Kyle Finnegan worked around an RBI single from Gonzales in the ninth for his 35th save of the year.
Pittsburgh had the bases loaded with one out against Finnegan, but Bryan De La Cruz grounded into a game-ending double play.
Dylan Crews went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs, two runs and a walk for Washington (63-78), which won for just the second time in its past seven games. Jose Tena also had two hits.
Pirates starter Luis L. Ortiz (6-5) lasted 5 2/3 innings, yielding four runs (three earned) and six hits. He walked two and fanned two.
Crews got the Nationals’ offense in motion in the second, smacking a solo home run to left-center for a 1-0 lead.
Washington doubled its advantage in the fourth when Luis Garcia Jr. opened the frame with a walk, advanced to second on a one-out single by Tena and moved to third on a groundout before coming home thanks to a passed ball.
Garcia took advantage of another Pittsburgh mishap in the sixth, and it ended up paying off. He was able to take third following his double when Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz made a poor throw back into the infield on the play. Keibert Ruiz proceeded to plate Garcia with a sacrifice fly.
Two batters later, Crews ripped an RBI double to make it 4-0.
CJ Abrams gave the Nationals an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth.
