Brandon Wood debuts as Pittsburgh Pirates beat Washington Nationals 4-2 – MLB Update
Brandon Wood earned potential glory as a debutant on Monday night to score an unlikely win for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Washington Nationals 4-2.
His debut could not be more memorable, as Wood stirred the Pirates’ offence when it had struggled to cope with the increasing pressure especially when Washington had a 2-0 lead until the fourth inning. Wood played brilliantly, as he managed to help guide
the Pirates over the Nationals in his debut game.
"It's nice to get the first hit and the first couple RBIs out of the way and just go play some baseball from here," said Wood, who was claimed off waivers from Los Angeles on Friday. "There are some jitters before just being with a new team. The first game
is almost like Opening Day a little bit. I put that behind me and just relaxed and played."
The Pirates’ defence did not intend to get behind at any cost and to keep things rolling as Paul Maholm also came up with his skilful expertise to strengthen the Pirates. "I was mixing speeds, mixing pitches and just letting the defense do some work," said
Maholm, who picked up his first win of the year. "Pretty much completely the opposite of what I did in my last start."
However, Maholm had a seemingly troubling start. The starting pitcher unfortunately gave up three hits and two runs in the very first inning. The runs came when Adam LaRoche singled to centre enabling Ian Desmond and Jayson Werth to score. The lead increased
pressure on Pittsburgh, but only a good inning was required to undo the damage.
Brandon Wood came in as the rain had delayed the game for over 21 minutes. The debutant doubled to deep center where Neil Walker and Steve Pearce scored soon after Neil Walker had singled to right. Wood also scored when Chris Synder singled to left. The
Pirates effectively utilised the mistakes John Lannon made. The fourth inning proved costly for Washington as Lannon gave up three hits and four runs, putting an end to the lead the Nationals had earlier.
The 4-2 lead seemed adequate enough for the Pirates’ defence. Maholm played his part brilliantly, disallowing any Nationals’ batter to go aggressively against him. He made sure that the innings remained shut-out as he pitched with brilliant accuracy. Soon
after, Evan Meek replaced Maholm, Washington saw an opportunity in him to score, but they failed to succeed. Joel Hanrahan was the last pitcher of the day for Pittsburgh. Hanrahan was unplayable and a comfortable 4-2 victory for Pittsburgh was secured with
a lot to celebrate, especially the illuminating debut of Brandon Wood.
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