Cole goes seven strong, Alvarez hits 25th home run of season in 5-1 win over Nationals

PIRATES 5 – 1 NATIONALS 1

*Gerrit Cole (5-3, 3.51 ERA) pitched seven strong innings and went 2-3 at the plate with an RBI single as the Pittsburgh Pirates (59-39) beat the Washington Nationals (48-52) 5-1 on Tuesday night to extend their winning streak to three games.

With the way Cole is hitting, David Littlefield would be preparing to move Cole to first base if he was still the Pirates GM.

Cole allowed 2 hits and 1 run, striking out 4 and walking 1. He ended a personal three game losing streak. After allowing a home run to Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos in the third inning, Cole retired 15 of the last 16 batters he faced.

*Pedro Alvarez (.243 – 25 HR – 63 RBI) homered and singled in the win. Alvarez who has hit the 25 home run mark for the second straight season, is on pace for 41 home runs and 104 RBIs.

*Russell Martin (.251 – 9 HR – 35 RBI) had 3 hits for the Pirates, going 3-4 with 2 runs scored and had a stolen base. Martin is 5-for-7 in his last two games.

*Bryan Morris (2.53 ERA) pitched a scoreless eighth inning, allowing 1 hit. Morris struck out one and threw 12 of 16 pitches for strikes. In a 5-1 game, Hurdle let Mark Melancon (0.95 ERA) pitch in the ninth. Melancon only needed 7 pitches to get three outs and end the game.