The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped their seventh straight game Friday night, falling 6–5 to the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. It marked the team's second seven game losing streak of the season, as the club’s record fell to 64–84 while Washington improved to 61–86. The defeat underscored continued offensive struggles for the Bucs, who managed ten hits but left too many runners on base.
The decisive rally came in the seventh inning. Dylan Crews crushed a two-run homer to center—his ninth of the season—off starter Kyle Nicolas, and James Wood followed with an RBI single to extend the lead. Nicolas absorbed the loss after giving up four earned runs over 5⅔ innings, while P.J. Poulin picked up the win by working five shutout frames with five strikeouts.
Closer José A. Ferrer drew his ninth save despite surrendering a pair of runs in the ninth—his first runs allowed in 15 outings. Ferrer stranded the go-ahead run at third with two outs before finishing off the Nationals’ victory.
On Saturday, both teams will turn to young talent in search of momentum. Washington will send left-hander Andrew Alvarez (1–0, 1.86 ERA) to the mound; in two starts he’s limited opponents to a .118 batting average over 9⅔ innings and fanned six. The Pirates counter with right-hander Bubba Chandler (2–1, 7.36 ERA), who’s aiming for a bounce-back after surrendering nine earned runs in 2⅔ innings in his last outing.
First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m. ET at Nationals Park, with live coverage on MASN. Pittsburgh is desperate to halt its skid, while Washington looks to build on its late-season home success and avoid dropping the series finale.