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Bucs’ WC chances take hit in loss to Nats
- Updated: September 25, 2016
PITTSBURGH — There was a lot of pushing and shoving behind home plate in the third inning of the Nationals and Pirates’ series finale Sunday afternoon at PNC Park. Plenty of give-and-take on the scoreboard, too. The Pirates pushed, but the Nats pushed back with a five-run eighth inning, pulling out a 10-7 win in the back-and-forth, four-hour affair.
Tempers flared in the third after Jung Ho Kang faked a tag at third base on Bryce Harper’s triple, causing Harper to slide awkwardly into third base and eventually leave the game with what appeared to be a hand injury. Nats right-hander A.J. Cole threw behind Kang in his next at-bat, leading to a dugout-clearing scuffle around home plate.
But after getting brushed back, Kang punched back with a tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh inning — his 20th of the season — to give the Bucs a 7-5 lead. The lead wouldn’t last long, however. Jayson Werth, who was also prominently involved in the third-inning fracas, lined a two-run homer to center off Pirates setup man Felipe Rivero, a former Nationals teammate. Chris Heisey, Harper’s replacement, drove in the go-ahead run with a single to left. Clint Robinson singled …
