Wild Nationals bullpen gives Bucs a win

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the hapless bullpen of the Washington Nationals for the third straight night, scoring on a wild pitch in the ninth inning for a 2-1 victory Wednesday.

Joel Hanrahan threw a two-out, 1-2 pitch to Adam LaRoche that bounced before it got to home plate, allowing Freddy Sanchez to score from third.

The Pirates have won a season-high five straight, the last three adding to the misery of a Nationals relief corps whose combined record is 1-15. Washington has lost seven straight overall, and this was the first one in the streak when the Nationals failed to score at least five runs.

The Nationals squandered late chances by hitting into double plays in the eighth and ninth innings, and pinch-hitter Josh Willingham ended the game with a fly ball that Nate McLouth snagged about a foot from the top of the wall in center field.

John Grabow (2-0) pitched the eighth inning for the victory, and Matt Capps worked the ninth for his eighth save.

Hanrahan (0-2), brought on in the ninth inning of a tie game despite his 6.75 ERA, walked pinch-hitter Delwyn Young to lead it off. Sanchez and McLouth singled to load the bases with one out. Pinch-hitter Brandon Moss hit into a fielder’s choice that forced Young at the plate.

Then came Hanrahan’s bouncer to LaRoche, giving the Pirates the run they needed.

After plenty of scoring in the first two games of the series, the bats cooled off on both sides. The Pirates had averaged 91‚Ñ2 runs in the first four games of their winning streak, while the Nationals had scored five or more runs in 10 straight games for the first time in franchise history. Washington’s streak of six consecutive losses with five or more runs had tied a major league record.

John Lannan allowed one run and seven hits over seven innings for the Nationals, easily the team’s best pitching performance in a week. Paul Maholm gave up one run and four hits with seven strikeouts in six innings for the Pirates.

With Pittsburgh’s Andy LaRoche on first in the fourth, Jack Wilson doubled down the line to shallow left field. Adam Dunn retrieved the ball in plenty of time to get LaRoche at home, but instead the left-handed halfheartedly bounced a short throw that that dribbled past three players — Cristian Guzman, Ronnie Belliard and Ryan Zimmerman — before feebly making its way to the catcher.

Andy LaRoche scored, Wilson took third on an error charged to Dunn, and the fans responded with a round of boos.