The Washington Nationals enter Thursday looking to split the four-game series against the Pirates after losing a tough battle Wednesday evening. Foster Griffin will take the mound for Washington to face Pittsburgh’s second-year righty Braxton Ashcraft in the series finale as the Nationals look to reset their offense following last night’s shutout loss.

The Washington Nationals were completely quiet at the plate on Wednesday night, falling 2–0 to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a game that had its final score almost immediately. Pittsburgh pushed across both of its runs in the first inning on a pair of RBI singles, and that was all the offense either side would produce the rest of the night. Washington had just three hits total and never advanced a runner home, having chances throughout but never converting. The lineup struggled to generate any consistent pressure, leaving multiple runners on base and failing to string together anything against a rolling Pirates pitching staff.

On the mound, Jake Irvin was solid but not rewarded, allowing just two runs over five innings while striking out five. The damage came early, and after that he settled in, but the Nationals’ offense never gave him a chance to recover. Pittsburgh turned the game over to Carmen Mlodzinski after an opener, and he dominated by tossing six scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out five. The Pirates’ bullpen finished it off from there, locking down a combined three-hit shutout as Washington dropped a low-scoring, missed-opportunity game in which pitching kept them alive, but the bats never showed up.

On Deck…

The Nationals will head back to D.C. after this afternoon’s game, where they will welcome the Giants for a three-game series starting on Friday. Washington is lined up to start Zack Littell, though Blake Butera and San Francisco’s Tony Vitello have both not yet announced their respective pitchers for that 6:45 PM matchup.

In the hole…

That series will continue on Saturday, and while both pitchers are once again TBA, Cade Cavalli is expected to be the arm for the Nationals at 4:05 PM. The Left Field Gate will open early to Season Plan Holders at 2:30 PM.