Quinn Priester makes triumphant return in relief, as Pirates hold off Nationals rally for win

A right-handed pitcher who was a 2019 first-round pick got pounded for seven runs on 10 hits, including four runs on six hits in the first inning.

The good news for the Pittsburgh Pirates:

It wasn’t Quinn Priester.

The Pirates roughed up Jackson Rutledge in his major league debut, then held on despite a late rally to beat the Washington Nationals, 7-6, Wednesday night before 9,883 at PNC Park.

Rutledge was selected 17th overall in 2019, one spot before the Pirates picked Priester. If anyone can relate to a disastrous debut, it’s Priester. He allowed seven runs on seven hits and two walks in an 11-0 loss to Cleveland on July 17 and was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis a month later with a 9.10 ERA in his first six major league starts.

After delivering dominating performances in the minors, Priester was added to the Pirates’ taxi squad Tuesday and was activated against the Nationals. To make room on the roster, righty reliever Cody Bolton was optioned to Indianapolis.

The Pirates used Colin Selby as the opener, and he struck out the first two batters before Dominic Smith doubled to right then scored on a single to right by Joey Meneses for a 1-0 Nationals lead.

Rutledge (0-1) gave up four runs on six hits in the first inning, as the Pirates matched their most hits in a single inning this season. They also had six in the bottom of the fifth against the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 22 and the bottom of the eighth against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 1.

Ranked the Nationals’ No. 13 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Rutledge gave up back-to-back singles to Ji Hwan Bae and Bryan Reynolds before Ke’Bryan Hayes doubled off the Clemente Wall to score Bae to tie the game at 1. Jack Suwinski hit a jam-shot bloop single to left to drive in Reynolds to make it 2-1. After Rutledge got Endy Rodriguez to pop out to short, Joshua Palacios and Liover Peguero hit successive RBI singles to stretch the lead to 4-1.

The Pirates added another run to make it 5-1 in the third, when Palacios singled to center and scored on a double down the right field line by Alfonso Rivas, who was thrown out trying to go to third base.

Rutledge’s debut went from bad to worse in the fourth, when Bae drew a full-count walk and attempted to steal second base. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound Rutledge squatted on the mound for the throw to second, only to get hit in the back of the head by Nationals catcher Drew Millas. The error allowed Bae to advance to third.

Nationals manager Davey Martinez and team trainers attended to Rutledge, who remained in the game – only for Reynolds to hit a 2-2 changeup 389 feet for a moon shot off the right field foul pole for his 21st home run and 7-1 lead. After getting Hayes to pop out in foul territory, Rutledge was done.

Priester’s four-seam fastball sat at 94.5 mph, up a few ticks in velocity from his first stint with the Pirates. He retired 10 consecutive batters before Millas hit a 1-2 curveball 405-foot to right-center for his first career homer to cut it to 7-2 in the fifth.

CJ Abrams started the sixth by drawing a full-count walk and scored on a double to left by Lane Thomas to make it 7-3. Smith followed by drilling a first-pitch curveball over the middle for a two-run homer to right to cut the Pirates’ lead to 7-5. After Joey Meneses singled to left, Priester (3-2) was replaced by lefty Ryan Borucki.

Colin Holderman pitched a clean eighth, setting the stage for All-Star closer David Bednar to finish off the Nationals.

But a defensive switch backfired immediately.

The Pirates brought shortstop Alika Williams off the bench, only for him to call off Hayes and Reynolds and then drop Travis Blankenhorn’s pop-up in foul territory down the third base line. Bednar walked Blankenhorn, bringing the tying run to the plate.

Garcia singled to right to put runners on first and third for pinch hitter Keibert Ruiz, who drove in Blankenhorn to cut it to 7-6 on a bouncer between first and second. Rivas fielded it, but Ruiz beat the throw to Bednar at first, a call the Pirates challenged but which was upheld after review.

Jake Alu grounded into a forceout at second, putting runners on the corners again for another pinch hitter, Ildemaro Vargas, who drew a full-count walk to load the bases. But Bednar struck out Abrams on a full-count fastball and got Thomas to fly out to center for his 34th save.