WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pittsburgh Pirates were bound to lose eventually. They went down swinging, only after having so many strike calls go against them.

The Washington Nationals struck out 13 batters, with five going down looking at called third strikes. When Bryan Reynolds was called for breaking his wrists on a check-swing strikeout, Pirates manager Derek Shelton was ejected by home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski.

The Nationals scored four runs in the second inning off Mitch Keller on their way to a 5-3 win Wednesday night before 14,022 at Nationals Park, dropping the Pirates to 5-1 after their best start since 1983.

The Detroit Tigers (4-0), whose game at the New York Mets was postponed, are the only undefeated team remaining in MLB.

Keller (0-1), who allowed four earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out five on 84 pitches in 5⅓ innings, gave up a home run to Joey Gallo and five doubles, including three to Luis Garcia Jr.

“We just weren’t sharp,” Shelton said. “Mitch left some balls up. We didn’t get to Trevor Williams.”

Williams (1-0), who pitched for the Pirates from 2016-20, was the first right-handed starter they faced this season. He mixed his four-seam fastball with a changeup, slider and sinker to limit the Pirates to two runs on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 5⅓ innings.

“He kind of mixed and matched and made us chase out of the zone,” Shelton said. “That was the biggest thing. We got a couple pitches to hit and didn’t execute. And we had an opportunity for a big inning in the second and just didn’t get it.”

The second inning started with a Jack Suwinski double down the right-field line before Andrew McCutchen and Rowdy Tellez drew walks to load the bases. Michael A. Taylor drilled a 2-2 slider for a two-out single through the left side to score Suwinski and McCutchen to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. But Oneil Cruz grounded out to first to end the frame.

The Nationals answered by batting around in the bottom of the four-run second. Gallo got it started by belting a 447-foot home run into the second deck in right-center to cut it to 2-1. After Eddie Rosario reached on a fielder’s choice and Trey Lipscomb on interference by catcher Henry Davis, Garcia hit an RBI double over Suwinski’s head in left field to tie the score.

Victor Robles drew a full-count walk to load the bases, and CJ Abrams followed by roping a two-run single to right to score Lipscomb and Garcia for a 4-2 Nationals lead.

“I just didn’t execute when I needed to,” Keller said. “Giving up a four-spot in the second after we scored two is just not ideal. Tough, tough, tough second inning.”

After Williams got Ke’Bryan Hayes swinging for a strikeout, the Nationals brought in left-hander Robert Garcia to face Suwinski. That move backfired when Suwinski sent an 0-1 slider 402 feet over the right-field fence for his first homer to cut it to 4-3.

“Feels good to put a couple good swings on it and get the ball rolling,” Suwinski said.

Again, however, the Nationals responded. Garcia hit his third double of the game and scored when Ildemaro Vargas doubled to left to stretch the lead to two runs. That was it for Keller. Hunter Stratton came on in relief, giving up a single to Abrams before getting Lane Thomas to line into a double play.

After Taylor and Cruz were called out on strikes in the seventh, Reynolds was called for the check-swing strikeout. When Reynolds complained about the call, Shelton interjected and was tossed.

“Once I went on the field, I knew I was going to get ejected just because of the fact that you can’t argue it,” said Shelton, who added that he believes he should be allowed to appeal check swings. “It’s more just making sure Bryan stays in the game.”

The Pirates went down looking at called third strikes twice more in the eighth, with Hayes and McCutchen, and again with Tellez in the ninth before Kyle Finnegan struck out Taylor swinging to end the game.

“It’s baseball,” Reynolds said. “We’ve been playing good baseball, but today we didn’t play great baseball and we didn’t win the baseball game.”

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