Split | Pirates 10 Nationals 2

The Pirates got the bats out today and collected 10 runs on 16 hits. It was a nice win to get after they played 2 very stressful games yesterday and dropped the second one after being in very good position to win it.

Andrew McCutchen finished his fantastic series with a 3/5 performance. He was 9/16 this series and has hit batting average up to .294. Neil Walker and Lyle Overbay also collected 3 hits, and Overbay drove in 3 runs. Alex Presley and the Chase d'Arnaud, the recent AAA call-ups had 2 hits each.

It was an easy win for Kevin Correia, who went 6 innings and gave up 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 6.

The Pirates could be 1.5 games out of first place if the Twins can hold on for a win over the Brewers, they lead by 2 in the bottom of the 8th inning.

Next up is a 3-game series with Houston followed by a 3-game set with the Cubs before the All-Star break. Joel Hanrahan has made the all-star team and McCutchen could be added on if Ryan Braun can't go because of the injury he sustained yesterday. That would be good for everyone. Keep your fingers crossed.