PITTSBURGH _ Before the Pirates opened a three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Friday, manager Clint Hurdle was asked whether it was good to see Mark Melancon back at PNC Park. The best way it could play out, Hurdle replied, was if the Pirates didn't see Melancon at all.
There he was, though, trotting in from the visiting bullpen for the ninth inning Friday, pressed into action to preserve the Nationals' one-run lead. But he would not. Melancon blew his first save since joining the Nationals at the trade deadline, and the Pirates won, 6-5, in 11 innings.
Pinch-hitter Jacob Stallings lined a two-out, full-count, bases-loaded single over third base off right-hander Yusmeiro Petit to win the game. It was Stallings' second career hit.
The blown save was not entirely Melancon's fault. Down to the last out in the ninth _ after a successful Nationals challenge left a runner on first base with two outs _ Sean Rodriguez cracked a game-tying double over center fielder Trea Turner's head to tie the score, 5-5.
Turner's first step was in, and that was costly.
The Nationals' magic number to clinch the National League East division remains two. The Pirates climbed back over 500, with 77 wins and 76 losses.
The teams went 18 innings in their last meeting, so extra innings was not entirely unexpected.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon allowed six hits and three runs in five innings, striking out seven.
The Pirates ran smack into trouble three batters into the game. The Nationals' Bryce Harper, the only player drafted ahead of Taillon in 2010, scorched a ball off the wall in left-center field. Gregory Polanco chased after it and face-planted into the wall. He was visited by athletic trainer Ben Potenziano and was removed because of a left facial contusion, according to the Pirates.
The Pirates already have lost Gerrit Cole, Josh Harrison, Chris Stewart, Elias Diaz and A.J. Schugel for the remainder of the season. Starling Marte and Neftali Feliz also might not to return.
The first five hits off Taillon were of the extra-base variety. The Nationals pounded four in a row with one out in the second to push across their first three runs. Stephen Drew, Ryan Zimmerman and the pitcher Gio Gonzalez doubled, and Danny Espinosa homered to center.
The Pirates countered with two runs in the bottom of the second with the rookies Taillon and Adam Frazier chipped in RBI singles with two outs. They tied the score, 3-3, in the third when McCutchen ripped a triple past a diving Harper in right field, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, and Jung Ho Kang scored him with a groundout.
The Pirates used three pitchers in the sixth. Left-hander Antonio Bastardo served up a long, leadoff solo shot to Wilson Ramos and put two more men on base. Right-hander Jared Hughes, hurt by David Freese dropping a pop fly in foul territory, walked in a run. Left-hander Zach Phillips entered with two outs and the bases loaded and caught Harper looking at strike three.
Left-hander Felipe Rivero, facing his former teammates for the first time since being traded to Pittsburgh in the Melancon deal, struck out two Nationals in a perfect eighth inning.
