Mlodzinski (1-0) replaced starter Mason Montgomery in the second and struck out five with two walks to lower his ERA to 1.77. Dennis Santana worked the ninth for his second save.
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Ryan O’Hearn had three hits for the Pirates, who won 10 of 14. Marcell Ozuna and Nick Gonzales had RBI singles in the first inning against Jake Irvin (1-2), and it proved to be enough when four pitchers combined for Pittsburgh’s second shutout in less than a week.
Mlodzinski began this season as a full starter for the first time in his four-year career after bouncing between the rotation and bullpen last season.
While he was excellent through his first three at-bats in 2026, manager Don Kelly opted to give the ball to left-hander Montgomery in the first inning on Wednesday in hopes of dealing with the left-handed top of Washington’s lineup while also allowing Mlodzinski to work deeper into the game.
Montgomery allowed a one-out double to Curtis Mead. Mead advanced to third on a groundout, but stopped there after Montgomery fanned Brady House to end the inning.
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It would be the closest the Nationals, whose 99 runs in 17 games tied for the best offensive start in franchise history, would come to scoring all night.
Mlodzinski entered in the top of the second and hit CJ Abrams before calming down. His only real problem came in the fifth, when a single and a walk made it two with one out. He retired James Wood on a long fly ball to left and then forced Mead to ground out to third to end the threat.
Next
The four-game series concludes Thursday. Foster Griffin (2-0, 1.76 ERA) starts for the Nationals against Pittsburgh’s Braxton Ashcraft (1-1, 2.12).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb