Gerrit Cole picked up his 14th win, limiting Washington to a run on seven hits in seven and two-thirds innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates topped the Nats, 3-1, on Sunday.
Cole (14-4, 2.24 ERA) struck out eight without issuing a walk. Mark Melancon earned his 32nd save with a scoreless ninth.
Joe Ross (2-3, 3.03 ERA) took the loss for Washington, giving up three runs on five hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking one.
Michael A. Taylor accounted for all of the Nats’ offense with a third-inning solo homer, his eighth of the season.
Washington threatened in the eighth, getting a one-out single from pinch-hitter Anthony Rendon and a two-out single from Danny Espinosa to bring up Bryce Harper. Lefty reliever Tony Watson came in to face Harper, who hit a sharp grounder toward the hole between first and second. Sean Rodriguez made a nice play on the ball and threw to Watson covering to get the out and end the threat.
The win gave the Pirates three out of four in the weekend series.
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