Game Log: July 3, 2026 @ Nationals

The Pirates dropped the opener in Washington 9-5 and fell to 44-45. Mitch Keller gave up a bunch of home runs, the Nationals kept tacking on, and a four-run ninth made the final look closer than the game was.

Washington got to Keller early and often, and all of it came over the fence. Luis García Jr. homered in the first, Daylen Lile went deep in the second, and José Tena added a two-run shot in the third to make it 4-1. Keller finished six innings and gave up five runs on three homers. He kept the ball down at times but left enough up to get punished on a hot day with the ball carrying.

The Pirates got one back in the third on a Bryan Reynolds two-run homer, his 12th, to make it 4-2. That was most of the offense for a long stretch. They put runners on all night but could not get the timely hit, finishing four-for-11 with runners in scoring position and leaving 11 on base.

The Nationals pulled away late off the bullpen. García Jr. hit his second homer of the game in the seventh, and Lile added his second in the eighth to push it to 9-1. That was Mattson getting hit hard in relief, two homers in his inning and a third.

The Pirates put together a four-run ninth to make it respectable, but they were too far behind by then. Reynolds, Valdez, Gonzales, and Lowe all had a hand in the hits, and the offense racked up 13 on the day. On a night the pitching gave up nine, the bats had their chances and did not cash enough of them. On to game two.