The Pittsburgh Pirates lost their fourth game in a row on Monday night, falling to the Washington Nationals 3-2 after carrying a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning.
It was there that Luis Garcia led off with a double off of reliver Chris Stratton, who then got the next two outs before giving up a two-run homer to Maikel Franco, a 418-foot blast that ended Pittsburgh’s hopes for squashing their losing streak.
The Pirates did put one on in the ninth on a Josh VanMeter double with one out, but Michael Perez and Hoy Park flyouts closed out the Buccos’ threat and sent them to defeat.