Offense shines again as Pirates get out to first 5-0 start in 41 years

WASHINGTON -- Michael A. Taylor admitted he wasn't expecting much of a reaction from the Washington faithful as he stepped to the plate for the first time in the top of the second inning Monday afternoon. After spending seven years with the Nationals and winning a World Series in 2019, Taylor was pleasantly surprised when he was greeted with a standing ovation that followed another warm reception during pre-game player introductions. 

"That was really awesome," Taylor said. "Probably one of the better moments I've had on a baseball field. To be able to come back here and get that kind of welcome was special. I really appreciated it."

Despite the welcomed reunion, Taylor didn't make things easy on his former team, as he was a part of a collective 15-hit outburst that catapulted the Pirates to their first 5-0 start in 41 years with an 8-4 victory over the Nationals. 

Hitting out of the No. 8 spot in the batting order, Taylor collected hits in each of his last three at-bats and drove in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly in the second inning. He legged out an infield bunt single to get things started in a three-run eighth that turned a tie game into a 6-3 lead. He later scored in the eighth before adding another single and a run scored in the ninth. 

"He’s right at the start of it," Derek Shelton said of Taylor. "I mean, this kid’s a baseball player. You guys know it, that have watched him play. Bunt, base hit, he takes an extra base. I mean, we came right back and put pressure on them, which was really important.”

The Pirates' monster eighth inning followed a bottom of the seventh in which the Nats tied the game on a two-run home run by Riley Adams. 

Like they did on two separate occasions when trailing in Miami, the Pirates responded with their bats. Taylor's bunt single was followed by a sacrifice bunt by Alika Williams, who was one of five players with two-hit showings. Another two-hit standout was Connor Joe, who plated a run with an infield single in the sixth before driving in Taylor with the go-ahead run on a double to left field: 

“It’s not the first time we’ve been punched in the face," Joe said. "In the Marlins series we came from behind twice. I just think, as a team, there’s never any panic. There’s always belief with the guys in this room. When they tied it up, we knew we had two more shots at it."

Two more runs came across with two outs in the eighth, as Ke'Bryan Hayes added a double of his own and Andrew McCutchen drove in a run with his second hit of the game. McCutchen reached base four times after striking out in each of his first two at-bats. His first of two hits on the day came in the form of this seventh-inning double that missed out on becoming his 300th career home run: 

“I think everyone is aware it’s still early. We don’t wanna get ahead of ourselves, but the vibes are good," said Joe, who had another stellar effort in his fifth game out of the leadoff spot. "Everyone is pulling for each other and everyone is building on the pressure we’re putting on pitchers. It’s carrying over to the next guy and the next guy. We’re grinding out at-bats and playing gritty baseball, and that’s contagious. Pitching side is doing awesome, keeping us in ball games and giving us a chance to win every game. We’re playing team baseball and it’s fun.” 

Joining Taylor, Joe, Williams and McCutchen with multi-hit games were Henry Davis, who chipped in with doubles in the second and sixth innings, and Bryan Reynolds, who singled in the first and drove in three runs, including a pair with a double over the head of right fielder Lane Thomas in the ninth: 

The Pirates have now scored six-plus runs in each of their first five games of the season for the first time since at least 1900. They've also had at least seven players record a hit in each of the first five games of the season, marking just the second time they've accomplished that feat since 1900.

"We’ve played full games," Shelton said. "In the eighth and ninth inning, just continuing to add on, bouncing back. Really proud of our group with this start.”

MORE FROM THE GAME

Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore was forced to throw a lot of pitches early and didn't make it out of the sixth inning. He threw 101 pitches through 5 1/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts. 

In Miami, the Pirates' offensive success forced the Marlins to dig deep into their bullpen. That was the case again in the opener against Washington, as four relievers combined to allow five runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. 

“I think it’s an important thing. We saw it in the Miami series, where we were able to wear them down, use their bullpen," Shelton said. "I mean, [MacKenzie] Gore is good. He’s got good stuff, and we were able to get his pitch count up a little bit. Then we got after their bullpen. But, I mean, that’s a good big-league starter right there.”

On the other side of things, Marco Gonzales put together a strong showing in his Pirates debut, which also served as his first regular season start since May 28. Gonzales spent a large portion of last year on the 15-day injured list and eventually had his season come to an end after undergoing surgery to address a nerve issue in his forearm. 

"Just extremely grateful for my health and also the people who helped me get here, [including] the trainers that I worked with all of last year in Seattle," Gonzales said. "The work I put in this offseason, it's not just showing up and pitching, it's months and months and months of rehab and a procedure to clean up my forearm. And then a lot of time in the weight room and throwing this offseason to get here. I'm very, very grateful and looking forward to keeping this going." 

Gonzales was effective throughout his first outing of the year, throwing just 51 pitches through four innings. He made it through five and came out to begin the sixth before allowing a leadoff single to CJ Abrams. A 13-pitch at-bat against Thomas followed and concluded with a walk to put an end to Gonzales' day. 

He allowed one earned run on a third-inning RBI single from Thomas, which served as one of four hits surrendered on the day. He walked a pair, struck out two and threw 50 of his 77 pitches for strikes. 

"He was effective, he was efficient and he did a really nice job," Shelton said. "He had to sit for that one long inning, but overall, it was really important for him to get out there and be able to execute.”

Gonzales said he felt a bit of nerves, but it had nothing to do with the fact that he was pitching in a meaningful game for the first time in over 10 months. He just didn't want to play a role in the season-opening win streak coming to an end. 

"I'm just glad to get mine out of the way and keep it rolling," Gonzales said. "I don't think anybody in here is really keeping track right now, we're just having fun. That's the best part about this." 

THE ESSENTIALS

• Box score
• Live file
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: C Yasmani Grandal (foot), 2B Ji Hwan Bae (hip).

• 15-day injured list: RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (forearm), RHP Colin Holderman (illness).

• 60-day injured list: RHP Johan Oviedo (elbow), RHP Dauri Moreta (elbow), C Endy Rodriguez (elbow).

THE SCHEDULE

After an off day Tuesday, the Pirates return to action against the Nationals at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Mitch Keller (0-0, 6.35 ERA) goes up against Trevor Williams (0-0, 0.00 ERA). 

THE CONTENT

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