Pirates Vs. Nationals: Bucs For Some Reason Allow Tim Wood To Blow Game In Ninth

The Pirates lost 2-1 Friday against the Nationals on a completely avoidable walk-off single by Matt Stairs.

The Bucs could have had big innings in the first or third (in the third, the Bucs were the beneficiary of two Nationals errors), but they scored only one run, on an RBI groundout by Alex Presley. 

Meanwhile, Charlie Morton pitched well after missing a start, but allowed a solo homer in the sixth to Roger Bernardina to tie the score at one.

The Pirates maintained that score until the ninth, at which point the Bucs brought in Tim Wood. Wood has pitched very poorly since arriving in the big leagues and had seven walks and two strikeouts before entering the game. There was no reason for him to be pitching in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game, given that Joel Hanrahan and Jose Veras were both available. Wood allowed a single and a wild pitch, and then Stairs knocked in the game-winner.