Andrew McCutchen had four hits, including his second home run in as many nights, to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-2 win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.

Brad Lincoln (2-0) earned the win in relief of starter Erik Bedard, who was lifted three pitches into the second inning due to back spasms.

Joel Hanrahan survived a shaky ninth to pick up his sixth save as the Pirates won consecutive games for the first time since April 17-18.

Ross Detwiler (3-2) allowed three runs and seven hits with four strikeouts in six innings for Washington. Ian Desmond had two hits and Xavier Nady and Chad Tracy knocked in runs for the Nationals, but they couldn’t stop Washington from dropping its third straight.

Nationals rookie outfielder Bryce Harper went 0 for 4 with a walk and popped to shortstop with the tying run on second in the ninth.

Washington had its chances to rally in both the eighth and ninth. The Nationals loaded the bases with one out in the eighth against Jason Grilli, but Grilli struck out Danny Espinosa and Rick Ankiel to end the threat.

McCutchen, who failed to homer in his first 90 at-bats this season, provided some insurance in the eighth with his second homer in 24 hours.

The Pirates looked as if they would need it when Hanrahan, who blew a save on Tuesday, again struggled. He hit pinch-hitter Steve Lombardozzi with one out then gave up a double to Desmond.

In stepped Harper, still looking for his first major league home run. He swung for the fences while falling behind 0-2 then popped meekly to shortstop.

Ryan Zimmerman followed and worked the count full before striking out on a 96 mph fastball from Hanrahan.

The victory gave the Pirates something they haven’t had in awhile: momentum. Save for a brief two-game slide in St. Louis last week, Pittsburgh has alternated wins and losses in each game.

The Pirates hoped Bedard would give them a boost. Instead the oft-injured left-hander was lifted after throwing a fastball to Adam LaRoche in the second inning. Bedard grabbed his side after letting the pitch go. He tried to stretch for manager Clint Hurdle before being sent to the dugout.

Enter Lincoln, a spot starter turned long reliever. He gave up an unearned run, one hit and four strikeouts and one walk in three innings while dropping his ERA to 0.63.

Lincoln reached on a strikeout and wild pitch with one out in the third, moved to third when Jose Tabata’s grounder caromed off Detwiler’s foot past second baseman Espinosa. Neil Walker and McCutchen followed with RBI singles with McCutchen capping the inning by racing home on a slow roller to short by Casey McGehee.

Desmond grabbed the ball and looked to first before pulling it down. He then faked a throw to third, which McCutchen had already streaked past. Desmond reloaded and threw home, but McCutchen slid under the tag to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead.

Nady, making a start in right field in place of injured Jayson Werth, put Washington on the board with an RBI single in the fourth and Tracy’s pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the seventh pulled the Nationals within 3-2.

NOTES: Injured Washington reliever Drew Storen could begin a throwing program by the end of the week. Storen hasn’t pitched all season while recovering from bone chips in his right elbow. Manager Davey Johnson said he’s hopeful Storen and closer Brad Lidge _ recovering from abdominal surgery _ will be making rehab appearances by the end of the month … The series concludes on Thursday when Washington’s Stephen Strasburg (2-0, 1.66 ERA) faces Pittsburgh’s Kevin Correia (1-2, 3.38) … Pittsburgh outfielder Alex Presley, mired in a 3-for-28 slump, didn’t start for the second straight game while he works in the batting cage.

PITTSBURGH — Late Wednesday night, when the Washington Nationals needed him most, Danny Espinosa walked into the ideal chance to validate his manager’s faith. He had flailed, searched and scuffled all season long. Davey Johnson worried about his second baseman, but not enough send him the bench. In the eighth inning, with the bases loaded and one out, the Nationals down by a run, the game found him.

The count ran full. And against the fourth Pittsburgh Pirates reliever of the game, Espinsoa did what he has done with more frequency than any player in the National League: He struck out. The crucial whiff served as the fulcrum for the Nationals’ 4-2 loss to the Pirates before 11,478 at PNC Park, their third straight defeat, during which they stranded five base runners in the final two innings, four of them in scoring position.

Following an electric series over the weekend against their rival at packed Nationals Park, the Nationals came here to face a nondescript opponent at an empty ballpark under a gray sky spitting intermittent rain. A letdown could have been predicted, but not to the depths Washington reached Wednesday night.

The Pirates lost starting pitcher Erik Bedard to back spasms with no outs in the second inning. The Nationals responded with two runs, four hits and 11 strikeouts off five relievers in the final eight innings. On a night stuffed with bizarre moments, odd decisions and strange plays, the Nationals’ offense rendered moot six solid innings from Ross Detwiler, who allowed three runs on seven hits.

The Nationals had another chance in the ninth inning off closer Joel Hanrahan. Ian Desmond’s one-out double put two runners in scoring position with the Nationals down by two and Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman due up. Harper popped to shallow left. Zimmerman, who the night before sparked a ninth-inning rally, struck out.

On an offense that has struck out 23 times over the past two games, he is by no means the lone culprit. But in the middle of the loss stood Espinosa, the second-year second baseman fighting to find his footing. Espinosa snapped an 0-for-10 slump in the seventh inning and scored Washington’s second run, but among hitters the Nationals counted, he has struggled more than any other.

Espinosa is hitting .189, and his .514 OPS entering Wednesday ranked 176th out of 186 qualifying major league players. Only Adam Dunn of the Chicago White Sox has struck out more than Espinosa, whose 39 whiffs in 123 plate appearances lead the National League.

In the spring, Johnson and hitting coach Rick Eckstein instructed Espinosa to swing easy and not try to muscle the ball. Lately, Johnson has said Espinosa was not swinging as aggressively as he’d like. Espinosa seems to be stuck in the middle, guessing at pitches and feeling for the ball. He had swung at and missed 14.9 percent of the pitches he’s seen this year entering Wednesday, fifth-most in the majors.

The most troubling aspect of Espinosa’s struggle is that it extends to last season. After the last all-star break last year, Espinosa hit .227 with a .310 on-base percentage and a .352 slugging percentage. In his last 94 games, a span of 399 plate appearances, Espinosa has 119 strikeouts, 40 walks and only six home runs. Over that span, more than half a full season, he is hitting .215, getting on base at a .301 clip and slugging .318.

As spring training drew to a close, some Washington Nationals grew weary of the growing external expectations placed on them. Despite having never finished with a winning record, they had turned into a trendy playoff choice. Several players openly predicted October baseball, too, but not all of them: “Talk is cheap,” Jayson Werth said in late March. “We’re going to have to go out and do it.”

The talk, at least before the season’s first month has elapsed, has given way to a start even the most optimistic prognosticators could not have forecasted. As they prepare to begin a six-game West Coast swing Tuesday night in San Diego, the Nationals entered Monday night tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers, at 12-4, for the best record in the National League.

No pennants have been won in April, the month on the baseball calendar that tells more lies than any other. But the Nationals’ start has validated their hope that they are leaving a dismal past for a bright future. Through 16 games, or 10 percent of the season, they have validated the talk with success on the field.

“It gives us the confidence that we have the talent on this team to do whatever we want,” second baseman Danny Espinosa said. “We’re not even playing that well, in my eyes. Not everyone is hitting. Not everyone is clicking exactly where they want to be right now. For us to be winning ballgames against tough teams and still not have everything going 100 percent right, it’s a pretty good sign.”

The Nationals have used their hot start to prove, to both the league and themselves, that they can move from also-ran to contender. Even if they’re in first place, the Nationals’ start means little in the standings at this juncture; the last-place Philadelphia Phillies have plenty of time to make up a five-game deficit. What does it mean to the Nationals? The start reassured them and created an expectation to win.

“It’s a huge mental hurdle,” veteran Mark DeRosa said. “The guys in here, we thought we had a good team coming out of camp, ready to win. Until you do it, you don’t really, truly know. I think it validates all the talk. It is very early. But we know as a team we can win.”

The Nationals have thrived on close games, holding teams down with their dominant pitching staff and scraping out just enough runs with an offense playing without projected cleanup hitter Michael Morse, on the disabled list until midseason because of a strained right lat. The Nationals have gone 7-3 in games decided by one run or in extra innings. Already, they have won two 2-1 games, two 3-2 games and a 1-0 game.

Over a full season, one-run games typically even out for every team. The Pythagorean Winning Percentage formula, an accurate predictor of future success, gauges where a team’s record should stand based on runs scored and allowed. The Nationals have out-performed their expected record but still, at 10-6, have the third-best Pythagorean winning expectancy in the majors.

“The mettle of a team is winning close ballgames,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “As a manager, I’ve always looked at our record in close games. That talks about clutch hitting. Clutch pitching. That’s very important if you’re going to contend. You can’t get beat up in these close ballgames.”

Jayson Werth has extended his hit streak to seven. Credit: Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE