The game was effectively decided before the third inning began. Pittsburgh's four-run second inning turned a tied game into a comfortable advantage the Nationals never threatened, and the Pirates walked away from Nationals Park with a 7-1 win on Independence Day.
Braxton Ashcraft did enough to earn the decision. The right-hander went 5.2 innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits with 7 strikeouts and 2 walks on 94 pitches. He moves to 9-3 with a 3.24 ERA. On the other side, Zack Littell absorbed the bulk of the workload for Washington, pitching 6.0 innings and allowing 1 run on 4 hits with 3 strikeouts. Carson Palmquist, who entered in relief, allowed 4 runs on 4 hits in 1.0 inning and took his first loss of the season, falling to 0-1 with an 8.44 ERA.
Pittsburgh struck first when Konnor Griffin stole home in the first inning to put the Pirates ahead. James Wood answered immediately, homering to right — a 428-foot shot — to tie it at 1-1. That was Washington's last lead of the night. In the second, Gonzales scored on a Davis infield single to give Pittsburgh the lead for good. Lowe then singled to center, bringing home both Callihan and Mangum to push the advantage to 4-1. Valdez added another with a single to right, scoring Davis and making it 5-1. The Pirates added two more in the eighth — Reynolds scored on a Gonzales single, and O'Hearn crossed the plate on a Davis walk — to set the final at 7-1.
Washington managed just 6 hits on the night and could not sustain any offensive momentum after Wood's first-inning home run. Wood finished 1-for-2 with 2 walks and an RBI, carrying a .269 average with 23 home runs and 56 RBI on the season. For Pittsburgh, Henry Davis drove in 2 runs, Brandon Lowe added 2 RBI, and Nick Gonzales went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.
Pittsburgh falls to 44-45 with the loss snapping a brief run, while Washington improves to 46-43, extending its winning streak to three games.