 and moved to second on Colin Moran's grounder. With two outs, Martin hit a ground-rule double to left for his second major league RBI.Washington entered the day with the worst bullpen ERA in the majors and it rose to 7.75.The Nationals loaded the bases in the bottom half on a single, walk and Adam Eaton's bunt single with one out. Vazquez (1-0) struck out Howie Kendrick and retired Anthony Rendon on a flyball to end it.Washington starter Max Scherzer allowed three runs and seven hits while working a season-high eight innings. He struck out seven.Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings.Rendon extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games with a single in the sixth.TRAINER'S ROOMPirates: OF Gregory Polanco (left shoulder) had two hits and drove in two runs Saturday in his first rehabilitation appearance at Triple-A Indianapolis. . RHP Dovydas Neverauskas (oblique strain) had two strikeouts in a scoreless inning Saturday for Indianapolis. He's thrown three scoreless innings during three rehab appearances at Indianapolis and Class A Bradenton.Nationals: Manager Dave Martinez said 1B Matt Adams, who twisted his ankle Saturday while stepping on Pittsburgh RHP Chris Archer's foot, was available to play Sunday.ARCHER DROPS PEALArcher dropped his appeal and began serving a five-game suspension for setting off a benches-clearing altercation on April 7. Archer threw a fastball behind Cincinnati's Derek Dietrich, who had stood and watched a long home run in his previous at-bat. Archer, who pitched seven innings Saturday against Washington, will make his next start April 21 at home against San Francisco.UP NEXTPirates: Pittsburgh has Monday off. It begins a two-game series at Detroit on Tuesday as RHP Joe Musgrove (1-0, 0.00 ERA) starts against the Tigers for the first time.Nationals: After an off day Monday, RHP Stephen Strasburg (1-0, 5.40) starts Tuesday as Washington begins a three-game series at home against San Francisco.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Scherzer up next for Nationals vs. Pirates Max Scherzer doesn't think it is a big deal that his start is being pushed back one day. He will face the Pittsburgh Pirates at home Sunday when the Washington Nationals host the series finale after teammate Anibal Sanchez made the start at home Saturday in a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh."If it wasn't April 12, I think things would be a lot different," Scherzer told reporters Friday. "And when you also consider the off days we have here. ... I mean literally it's just (Sanchez) and I flipping days. No one else in the rotation gets moved. Everybody else stays on schedule." Scherzer (1-2, 3.32) took a ball off his leg in his previous start, on April 7 in New York against the Mets.Scherzer is 5-2 with an ERA of 2.75 in 12 games (11 starts) in his career against the Pirates. That includes a no-hitter at Nationals Park against Pittsburgh in 2015, when he came within one strike of a perfect game before hitting Jose Tabata in the ninth.The Pirates starter on Sunday will be Jameson Taillon (0-2, 3.00), who is 0-1 with a 3.50 ERA in three career starts against the Nationals.He will have to deal with the red-hot Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon, who has an extra-base hit in 10 straight games."He's a good player, man," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said after Saturday's game. "There is really nothing he can't do on the field. He's a pro; in the box there is no panic. I'd like to get him out tomorrow." Taillon made one start last year at Nationals Park and was 0-1 as he lost 3-2 to Tanner Roark and Washington on April 30.The Pirates are 1-3 in one-run games this year and have lost three games in their opponents last at-bat. Hurdle said he is used to tight, low-scoring games."We have been doing this a lot since I have been here. It is much different than back when I was at Colorado," Hurdle said with a smile, in reference to high-scoring games in Denver. "It keeps everybody involved in every pitch." The Nationals bullpen entered Saturday's game with an ERA of 8.12 -- the worst mark in the league.Before the game Saturday, the Nationals recalled reliever Austen Williams from Triple-A Fresno and put right-handed reliever Justin Miller on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain.Miller gave up a game-winning three-run, pinch-hit homer to Colin Moran in the 10th inning of a 6-3 loss on Friday to the Pirates.Williams pitched in 10 games out of the bullpen for the Nationals last season and did not allow a run in six of them.With Scherzer on the mound, manager Dave Martinez hopes he can get at least seven innings out of his ace."Be smart. You're dealing with a leg injury," Scherzer said. "Leg injuries can turn into shoulder problems in a heartbeat. So, I respect what I have here, and I understood where they are coming from." Nationals first baseman Matt Adams left the game after he hit the bag at first in an awkward fashion while grounding out in the seventh. Adams told reporters he twisted his ankle but should be fine if needed Sunday.--Field Level Media
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