PITTSBURGH — The bats went silent for once and an old problem resurfaced on Tuesday night for the Nationals.
That combination led to a 4-1 setback by the Nationals to the host Pittsburgh Pirates, who had lost 12 of their previous 16 games.
Pirates outfielder Starling Marte hit a three-run homer off Nationals reliever Daniel Hudson in the bottom of the eighth inning to snap a 1-1 tie. That came after reliever Wander Suero loaded the bases with no outs. Hudson gave up a sacrifice fly to the first batter he faced in Bryan Reynolds before Marte hit a rocket towards the Allegheny River in right field.