The Washington Nationals went up against one of the best pitchers in the National League in Gerrit Cole (14-4, 2.24 ERA) as they tried to secure a split of their four game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates (57-41) at PNC Park. While Michael Taylor hit a home run for the second straight day, the Pirates were able to score a couple of runs against Joe Ross (2-3, 3.03) , which made the difference in a 3-1 win.
The Nats got on the board first in the top of the third inning.