(ed. note - "Lightning knocked my power out in the seventh inning last night. What follows is a hastily prepared [i.e. 'unedited'] Game Report on all the action I watched, supplemented by the Game Thread comments for the rest of the game which I followed through my iPhone with the help of a regular contributor here at federalbaseball.com, the estimable Doghouse. 'Thanks again for the color commentary, to go along with the iPhone updates, Doghouse.'" P.S. - Tonight's Game Thread will be up late too, the power didn't come back until the wee hours of the morning so everything's backed up...please bear with us...)

Pittsburgh lefty Paul Maholm gives up a leadoff single to Washington shortstop Cristian Guzman in the top of the first of three in PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Maholm gets Elijah Dukes swinging for the first K of the day, and gets a DP grounder from Lastings Milledge to end the top of the first...DC righty Tim Redding gives up a leadoff double to center to Nate McClouth, and McClouth moves to third on an error by Redding, and scores on a Freddy Sanchez groundout. Jason Bay singles off Redding, and Ryan Doumit takes one deeeeeep to right...and GONE!! 2-run blast. 3-0 Pirates. 

Matching 1-2-3 innings for each starter in the second. Felipe Lopez lines the first pitch of the third to Pirates’ second baseman Freddy Sanchez. Wily Mo Pena hits the second pitch to Jose Bautista at third. Nationals’ pitcher Tim Redding pops out to end the DC half of the frame. Redding throws a fastball by Freddy Sanches for a swinging strike three. Jason Bay flies out to Milledge in center. Ryan Doumit is half-way to hitting for the cycle as he doubles to center and off the outfield wall with two down. Xavier Nady grounds out to short. Three innings down. 3-0 Pirates.

Lastings Milledge singles off Maholm with two down in the DC fourth, and DY drives a liner to right and it gets by X. Nady and to the wall, Milledge has his mind made up as he approaches third, Nady fields and throws it to the cutoff man, Milledge is around third, the throw reaches Doumit ahead of the runner, Milledge tries to slide around and touch the plate, Doumit blocks home and tags Milledge, "YOU"RRRE OUT!" yells the Ump...Jack Wilson drops a single one hop in front of Dukes in right with two down in the home half of the fourth, but Redding escapes further damage . 

Ronnie Belliard returns in style with a solo shot into the first row in left with two down in the Nationals’ fifth. 3-1 Pirates. Redding breaks Nate McLouth’s bat in half inducing a groundout to second. Freddy Sanchez smacks a low liner out the reach of Ronnie Belliard and into center. Redding gets Jason Bay looking at strike three and Sanchez gets thrown out trying to steal second, strike ‘em out, throw’em out end to the fifth. 

Redding down swinging, Guzman down grounding, but Elijah Dukes keeps the sixth alive with a broken bat hit past Bautista at third, and Dukes keeps running forcing a throw that comes in late to second. Lastings Milledge...lines out to left center where Jason Bay makes the grab that ends the DC sixth...Doumit’s looking for his third hit of the game, but forget the cycle, Doumit demolishes a high 2-1 fastball to right and GONE Goodbye, twenty rows deep,  4-1 Steeltown. 

DY hits one out the park on a line drive and GONE! before Maholm can even call for a new ball. 4-2 Pirates in the seventh. Jesus Flores reaches down and makes a miracle of a cleat-level low fastball, turning it into a home run to left.  4-3 Pirates. Ronnie Belliard hits the third dinger of the inning of Maholm, and it’s a tie game at 4-4 in the seventh. Felipe Lopez hits a pinch hit single, off Maholm who’s still in there when Cristian Guzman hits ground rule double to right. Maholm’s out. Lefty John Grabow faces Elijah Dukes. Dukes grounds to third. 4-4 after six and a half. Stand up and stretch...Saul "Sa-ool" Rivera’s on in relief...

Follow the rest of the Game (including Lastings Milledge's Late Game Heroics), through the Comments Thread...