PITTSBURGH — Oneil Cruz hit a leadoff home run, Andrew Heaney pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 1-0 on Thursday.
Cruz hit a grand slam in Wednesday’s 6-1 win and has four home runs this season.
Pittsburgh won 1-0 on a leadoff homer for only the second time since 1900 after Carlos GarcÃa’s drive off the Marlins’ Chris Hammond on Sept. 14, 1993, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Heaney (1-1) gave up all five Nationals hits, walked two and struck out four. Ryan Borucki and Dennis Santana preserved the Pirates’ first shutout of the season, with Santana earning his second save.
Washington starter Trevor Williams (1-2) pitched five innings and gave up three hits and one run. Nathaniel Lowe had two hits for the Nationals.
The Nationals were without manager Dave Martinez after he was fined and suspended for one game following a bench-clearing incident in Wednesday night’s game that resulted in Washington pitcher Jorge López being suspended three games for throwing at Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen. Bench coach Miguel Cairo served as manager Thursday.
López was ejected from Wednesday night’s game against the Pirates after a high pitch near McCutchen’s head led to the benches briefly clearing in the seventh inning. López hit the previous batter, Bryan Reynolds, with a pitch before facing McCutchen, who had to fall to the ground to avoid getting hit by a 92 mph ball near his head.
Lopez has filed an appeal of the suspension, which was set to begin Thursday but will not take effect until that process is done.
As the umpires gathered to discuss what happened during Wednesday’s game, McCutchen and López started arguing, which caused both benches to empty. Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham was also seen yelling while being held back by Cruz.
Pirates catcher Joey Bart batted cleanup after missing five games with a sore back. Teammate Bryan Reynolds started in the outfield for the first time since March 30 after being confined to DH duties because of a right shoulder injury.
Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes preserved the shutout in the eighth inning, snagging Amed Rosario’s sharply hit ground ball down the line and throwing to first for the third out, stranding a runner at third.
Heaney, a 12-year veteran who signed with the Pirates in the offseason, was 0-2 with a 5.14 ERA in six previous career appearances — five starts — against Washington.
\Washington’s MacKenzie Gore (1-2, 3.52) pitches against Rockies’ Chase Dollander (1-1, 5.06) at Colorado on Friday. The Pirates’ Carmen Mlodzinski (1-2, 6.23) will face Cleveland’s Luis Ortiz (1-2, 6.06) in Pittsburgh on Friday.
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