PITTSBURGH (Interstat) — In a back-and-forth affair that defied pregame projections and required extra innings to decide, the Washington Nationals outlasted the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 in 10 innings on Thursday afternoon at PNC Park.

The game, which lasted 3 hours and 30 minutes and was witnessed by 10,504 fans, saw the Nationals blow a four-run lead, surrender a game-tying run in the ninth, and then scratch across the decisive run in the 10th before slamming the door in the bottom half of the frame.

Washington improved to 9-10 with the victory, while Pittsburgh fell to 11-8. The combined 15 runs fell well under the sportsbook over/under line of 9, a line shattered by the teams’ 16-5 Pirates rout just three days prior.

The contest was a quiet pitchers’ duel through four innings before erupting into a slugfest in the fifth. The Nationals struck first, plating four runs in the top of the frame without the benefit of a hit. Jorbit Vivas was hit by a pitch, Drew Millas doubled, and Nasim Nuñez walked to load the bases. After a strikeout, Luis García Jr. reached on a fielder’s choice grounder to shortstop Konnor Griffin, whose throwing error allowed all three runners to score. García ended up at second on the play.

The Pirates answered immediately and emphatically in the bottom of the fifth against Nationals starter Foster Griffin. Billy Cook and Jake Mangum singled before Oneil Cruz drove in the first Pittsburgh run with a double. Marcell Ozuna then erased the deficit entirely, launching a three-run homer to left field, his first of the season, to knot the score at 4-4.

Washington reclaimed the lead in the sixth on an RBI double by pinch-hitter Joey Wiemer, scoring Vivas. The Pirates responded with two of their own in the bottom half. Joey Bart singled and scored on a triple by Konnor Griffin. Later in the inning, Nick Gonzales singled to right, scoring Spencer Horwitz, but was thrown out at second attempting to stretch it into a double, ending the rally with the score 6-5 in favor of Washington.

The Nationals added two critical insurance runs in the seventh in unconventional fashion. James Wood singled and Daylen Lile doubled to put runners on second and third. After an intentional walk to CJ Abrams loaded the bases, Jacob Young was hit by a pitch, forcing in a run. Another run scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat, extending the lead to 8-5.

That lead held into the bottom of the ninth, where the Pirates mounted a dramatic comeback against Nationals reliever Clayton Beeter. Mangum walked and Ryan O’Hearn was hit by a pitch. After a force out put runners at the corners, Ozuna struck out. Nick Yorke then walked to load the bases for Brandon Lowe, who delivered a clutch two-out single to shortstop, scoring Mangum to tie the game at 8-7. With the winning run on second, Joey Bart flew out to center, sending the game to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th, facing Pirates reliever Dennis Santana, the Nationals manufactured the winning run. The automatic runner, Vivas, advanced to third on a groundout by Nasim Nuñez. James Wood then delivered a sharp ground ball single to right field, scoring Vivas for what proved to be the decisive run.

The Pirates threatened in their half of the 10th against Washington’s Orlando Ribalta. The automatic runner, Henry Davis, was bunted to third by Konnor Griffin, putting the tying run 90 feet away with one out. Ribalta bore down, striking out Bryan Reynolds swinging. He then induced a ground ball from Jake Mangum, a sharp comebacker that shortstop CJ Abrams turned into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Clayton Beeter, who allowed the tying run in the ninth, was credited with the win, moving to 1-0. Dennis Santana took the loss for Pittsburgh, falling to 2-1. Orlando Ribalta secured his first save of the season.

The most important sequence of the game was the final half-inning drama. With the tying run on third and only one out in the bottom of the 10th, Ribalta and the Nationals’ defense faced maximum pressure. Ribalta’s strikeout of Bryan Reynolds for the second out was crucial, setting the stage for the defensive finish. The game-ending double play, started cleanly by Abrams, was a sharp and necessary execution under duress, extinguishing the Pirates’ last hope and sealing a resilient road victory for Washington.

Offensively, Washington was led by multi-hit games from Daylen Lile (2-for-5, double) and Drew Millas (2-for-2, double, walk). James Wood’s go-ahead single in the 10th capped a 2-for-6 day. For Pittsburgh, Jake Mangum went 3-for-6 with two runs scored, while Nick Gonzales and Brandon Lowe each had two hits. The Pirates out-hit the Nationals 15 to 10 but stranded 11 baserunners and hit into two costly double plays.

The Nationals now return home to open a series against the San Francisco Giants on Friday. The Pirates will welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to PNC Park to begin a weekend set.