Derek Shelton is well aware that Daniel Vogelbach isn’t your traditional leadoff hitter, but the Pittsburgh Pirates manager loves that the 270-pound designated hitter can work counts and get on base.

Vogelbach led off three innings against the Washington Nationals with hits — a home run in the first, a single in the fourth and a double in the sixth — and was only a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

The baseball gods got a good laugh at that one.

Vogelbach, batting leadoff for the fourth time this season, got the last laugh by going 4 for 6 with three runs scored and two RBIs as the Pirates pounded the Nationals, 9-4, on Thursday night before 9,266 at PNC Park.

“It would’ve been magical if he would’ve hit for the cycle,” Shelton said, “because he would’ve gotten a triple, and that would’ve been fun to watch, I’m telling you that.”

It was the second career four-hit game for Vogelbach, who went 4 for 5 with a home run (and an intentional walk) for the Seattle Mariners in a 9-6 win at the Minnesota Twins on June 12, 2019. It also marked the second consecutive game a Pirates player had four hits, as Ke’Bryan Hayes went 4 for 4 in a 6-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.

“It’s always good to have games like that,” Vogelbach said. “My job as a DH is to hit. It’s what I’m here for is to hit and get on base for the guys behind me. Just try to do it every single night. It, obviously, doesn’t work every night but just try to have the same approach. Come in and get your work in, stick to your plan. You have nights like this, and you have nights when you go 0 for 6. Just keeping level headed, staying the same guy every day and good things happen.”

A day that started with the Pirates signing All-Star center fielder Bryan Reynolds to a two-year, $13.5 million contract to avoid arbitration ended with their second consecutive home victory. It took a long time to get there, as a 31-minute first inning that featured five walks led to a game that lasted three hours, 37 minutes.

Pirates starter JT Brubaker walked three of the first four batters he faced, loading the bases for Keibert Ruiz to hit a deep fly ball to right-center that Hoy Park misplayed to allow Cesar Hernandez to score. Yadiel Hernandez followed with another fly to right that bounced past Park, allowing Nelson Cruz and Josh Bell to score for a 3-0 Nationals lead.

Vogelbach blasted Joan Adon’s 1-1 fastball 419 feet into the visitor’s bullpen for his first career leadoff home run to cut it to 3-1. Reynolds tied it at 3-3 in the six-hit, four-run third, following Vogelbach’s leadoff single with a 410-foot homer to right-center.

The Pirates took a 5-3 lead when Kevin Newman drove in Yoshi Tsutsugo and Ben Gamel with a double to center, but Newman was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple. If not, the Pirates could have tacked on another run when Cole Tucker followed with a triple off the center-field wall.

Brubaker got Nationals star Juan Soto — who has more career walks than strikeouts — looking at a called third strike to end the second and fourth innings, then struck out designated hitter Nelson Cruz to start the fifth.

“That’s one for the books right there because he isn’t a guy that strikes out much,” Brubaker said. “He’s a guy that’s gonna put the ball in play or fight off until he gets his pitch. I just was making sure I didn’t give him his pitch.”

Brubaker, however, was pulled after issuing his fourth walk. Lefty Anthony Banda gave up back-to-back singles to load the bases, and Maikel Franco scored Bell with a sacrifice fly to cut it to 5-4.

The Pirates stretched their lead to two runs in the bottom of the fifth, making it 6-4 when Newman drew a two-out walk and scored on a single by Roberto Perez that advanced Tucker to third.

Vogelbach doubled to the right-field corner to lead off the sixth and scored on Tsutsugo’s sacrifice fly to left-center for a 7-4 lead. That might have been Vogelbach’s best shot at his first triple since he was playing for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs against Omaha on July 6, 2016. Vogelbach has never tripled in his seven-year major league career.

After Roberto Perez walked and Jake Marisnick singled, Vogelbach hit a bloop single to shallow left field to score Perez for an 8-4 Pirates lead. Patrick Murphy walked Reynolds to load the bases, then walked Ben Gamel with two outs to score Marisnick to make it 9-4.

Rookie right-hander Roansy Contreras earned his first major league victory, striking out five (including Cruz) while allowing one hit in three innings and making an “old-school shortstop play” on a Soto groundout. Contreras received a celebratory shower from his teammates, a day after Wil Crowe got one after earning his first career save.

“It was very exciting, very emotional as well,” Contreras said through team interpreter Mike Gonzalez. “To be a part of the victory that we brought to this team, it’s something I can’t describe right now.”

Shelton thinks it could be a season of milestone moments for the Pirates.

“When you have a lot of young players that come to the big leagues, you have a lot of firsts and check off boxes,” Shelton said. “For us to continue to grow and develop, we have to check off boxes. For Ro’ to do that and the way he did it today was pretty cool for him.”

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