Instant analysis: Pirates 3, Nats 1

Associated Press

Ross Detwiler lasted only five innings, allowing three runs.

Game in a nutshell: After back-to-back wins in Atlanta, the Nationals arrived in Pittsburgh looking to keep the momentum going in an upward direction. But they ran into a buzzsaw in A.J. Burnett. The veteran right-hander dominated over seven innings, allowing only one run while striking out nine to add to his league-leading total. Ross Detwiler, meanwhile, was a bit off, serving up a pair of home runs that gave the Pirates a 3-1 lead. That wouldn't have been a problem had the Nationals' lineup been able to produce, but the return of Ryan Zimmerman from the disabled list didn't do much of anything to inject life into that unit. With Bryce Harper also in a mini-slump (1-for-16), the Nats were again silenced by an opposing pitching staff and thus suffered a frustrating loss that dropped them back to the .500 mark at 15-15.

Hitting lowlight: The Nationals had been hoping for two weeks that Zimmerman's return from a hamstring strain would do wonders for their struggling lineup, but it didn't happen in the third baseman's first game off the DL. Zimmerman, who played in only one rehab game at Class A Potomac, struck out in all four of his at-bats, not looking particularly comfortable in any of them. Burnett and closer Jason Grilli definitely took advantage of the fact Zimmerman was standing well off the plate, feeding him nothing but outside pitches and making him lunge for the ball. He may need to make that adjustment quickly if he wants to force pitchers to come inside on him from now on.

Pitching lowlight: This wasn't a terrible start by Detwiler, but neither was it up to the high standards he's set for himself so far this season. The left-hander made two crucial mistakes, both fastballs over the plate, both resulting in two-out home runs. Andrew McCutchen tagged the first one in the bottom of the first. Jordy Mercer, just called up from Class AAA Indianapolis earlier in the day when Neil Walker went on the DL, then crushed a 2-run shot in the bottom of the fifth. When Detwiler walked Russell Martin to begin the sixth, Davey Johnson decided he'd seen enough. He strolled to the mound and signaled for Craig Stammen, a surprisingly quick end to Detwiler's shortest start of the season.

Key stat: In 24 career games against the Nationals, McCutchen is hitting .456 (41-for-90) with 11 homers, 22 RBI, a .524 on-base percentage, a .933 slugging percentage and 1.457 OPS.

Up next: Stephen Strasburg takes the mound Saturday afternoon, still seeking his first win since Opening Day and looking to put to rest any questions about his forearm. He'll go up against left-hander Jeff Locke, who has surprisingly pitched well so far this season for the Pirates (3-1, 2.83 ERA). First pitch is at 4:05 p.m., with the game televised on Fox.