Kearns Lifts Nats Over Pirates

Austin Kearns broke a tie with a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning, and the Washington Nationals ran their winning streak to a season-high four games last night with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Luis Ayala (1-1) pitched the eighth to get the victory in a game played at a torrid pace - 2 hours, 4 minutes.

Jon Rauch worked the ninth for his sixth save, doubling his career total from the start of the season. He's serving as Washington's closer while Chad Cordero nurses an arm injury. Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Doumit homered for the Pirates, while Wil Nieves had a two-run single for the Nationals, who have won seven their last night games. (More MLB stories.)