Pittsburgh @ Washington preview
Nationals Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 3, 2024 ) Pittsburgh 3, Washington 5
Nationals first baseman Joey Gallo looks to build on his breakout performance when Washington hosts the Pittsburgh Pirates in the rubber game of a three-game series on Thursday.
The 30-year-old slugger, signed as a free agent in the offseason to provide some pop in the middle of Washington's batting order, entered play Wednesday 0-for-12 with six strikeouts on the season.
Gallo finished the game a triple short of the cycle after smacking a 447-foot homer as part of a four-run second inning. He added a double and a single in Washington's 5-3 win.
"Thank God that I did something good," Gallo joked when asked how he felt after his homer. "Sometimes it takes one swing or one game to just kind of feel something and get that confidence going, and then things just go from there."
That echoes manager Dave Martinez's earlier remark that once Gallo found his timing, he likely would to go on a streak.
The news wasn't all good for Washington on Wednesday, as center fielder Victor Robles exited the game in the second inning after tweaking his left hamstring while going from first to third. He will undergo an MRI exam on Thursday.
"I don't want to assume anything, but he said he felt it pretty good," Martinez said. "We'll see what the MRI says, and then we'll go from there."
Washington right-hander Josiah Gray (0-1, 15.75 ERA) will oppose Pittsburgh left-hander Martin Perez (0-0, 2.08 ERA) in the series finale. Perez will be pitching on his 33rd birthday.
Gray, 26, allowed seven runs on eight hits over four innings in his first Opening Day start, against the Reds on March 28. He is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in three career starts against the Pirates.
Perez, signed as a free agent in January, gave up one run on six hits over 4 1/3 innings on Friday at Miami in his Pirates debut. He walked three and struck out two in a game the Pirates won 7-2. Perez is 0-2 with a 7.80 ERA in four games, three starts, against the Nationals.
Jack Suwinski homered and doubled for the Pirates and Michael A. Taylor added a two-run single against his former team on Wednesday, but it wasn't enough for Pittsburgh to avoid its first loss of the season after five wins.
In addition to Gallo's heroics, the Pirates were done in by Luis Garcia Jr., who smacked three doubles, raising his average to .333, and scored twice.
"We just obviously didn't have an answer for him," Pirates starter Mitch Keller said. "Was trying to throw everything at him. First-pitch curveball, sweeper, changeup. I mean, he was on everything. So, kudos to him, hats off to him. He had a great game."
Pirates manager Derek Shelton was ejected for arguing a check-swing strike three call on Bryan Reynolds in the seventh inning.
Reynolds and his teammates managed only four hits and struck out 13 times against Washington pitching. Clutch hitting has been key to Pittsburgh's early success, but the Pirates were just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday.
"We've just been passing the at-bat to the next guy, swinging at good pitches, scoring runs and doing all that stuff," Reynolds said. "We'll just move on."
--Field Level Media