Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Lastings Milledge's two-run homer in the top of the ninth put Washington on top for good, as the Nationals twice came back to top Pittsburgh, 7-6, in the opener of a three-game series.

Ronnie Belliard finished 3-for-4 with a pair of homers for the Nationals, who hit five homers overall -- Dmitri Young and Jesus Flores added solo shots for the Nationals, who had lost four in a row and were coming off a 1-6 homestand.

Tim Redding was shaky early, but gave up four runs on eight hits in six innings of work for Washington, which also opened a nine-game road trip. Joel Hanrahan (2-2) got the win for throwing a perfect two-thirds of an inning, while Jon Rauch nailed down his 13th save of the season.

Ryan Doumit drove the Pirates' offense, going 4-for-4 with two home runs, two doubles and three RBI, but Pittsburgh had a two-game win streak snapped.

Pirates starter Paul Maholm gave up one run through six innings, but surrendered three solo homers in the seventh, and ended up lasting 6 2/3 frames, while allowing the four runs on 10 hits.

Still, Pittsburgh had the lead heading into the ninth inning, where Matt Capps (0-1) surrendered two runs, blowing his first save and earning his first loss.

Heading into the ninth, the Pirates had a 6-5 lead and brought in Capps, who was perfect in 15 save opportunities. The Pittsburgh closer started out well by retiring the first two batters of the frame. But then Elijah Dukes doubled to center, and Milledge ripped a first-pitch fastball several rows back in left-center field to suddenly put Washington back in front.

"We all know that Capps is an aggressive guy," Milledge said. "We were trying to get to him and get him early in the count. We (Dukes and Milledge) knew we were going to get that fastball, and that's what we were looking for."

Said Capps of the home run pitch:

"It was belt-high, right down the middle. I definitely don't second guess the pitch. If I can go back and re-do it, I'm definitely throwing the same pitch, trying to locate a little better."

Rauch set the Pirates down in order in the ninth, on just nine pitches, to end the back-and-forth contest.

The late-game tumult began in the seventh, when the Pirates had a 4-1 lead, thanks to a strong start. But things started to unravel for Maholm, as Young hit the first pitch of the inning just over the left-center field wall.

After an Aaron Boone pop out, Flores hit a 1-2 curveball high and hard to left, well inside the foul pole and beyond the wall, bringing the Nationals within a run. Belliard followed that up with his second home run of the game, a line shot just over the wall in left, to tie the game.

Maholm was later replaced by John Grabow, though the Pirates avoided further damage until Belliard put Washington in front for the first time in the eighth. With two outs, he singled to center to knock in Willie Harris, and give the Nationals a 5-4 lead.

But the Pirates were game for a back-and-forth contest, and in the bottom of the eighth, Jason Bay started a rally with a leadoff walk against Luis Ayala. Doumit then legged out a double, beating the throw at the bag, to put runners in scoring position.

Xavier Nady plated one run with a looping single to center to tie the game, a play that also sent Doumit to third. After two pitching substitutions, pinch- hitter Doug Mientkiewicz brought home Doumit with a sacrifice fly, and the Pirates went into the ninth with the 6-5 lead.

Pittsburgh got off to a quick start, as Freddy Sanchez brought in Nate McClouth on a ground out in the first inning. Then, Bay reached when he beat out the throw on a grounder to the third baseman Boone, and Doumit launched what was then his sixth homer of the season. Redding kept the ball down and slightly inside, but Doumit reached down and clubbed the ball several rows back in right field to boost Pittsburgh's lead to 3-0.

Belliard's line-drive solo homer in the fifth got one run back for Washington, but Doumit's solo shot in the sixth made it a 4-1 game.