PITTSBURGH --- Michael Taylor is enjoying his first visit to PNC Park.

"It's a fun place to play," the Washington Nationals rookie center fielder said. "There's a lot of room to run around in the outfield and make some plays."

It was also a good place for Taylor to hit on Saturday night as he went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs and left-hander Gio Gonzalez won his fourth straight decision to lead the Washington Nationals to a 9-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Taylor, the Nationals' leadoff hitter with veteran center fielder Denard Span on the disabled list, capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the eighth inning against Pirates reliever Arquimedes Caminero. It was Taylor's seventh homer of the season.

"This is a tough center field to play, even in the early innings of night games because the sun is right over the center fielder's head," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "Michael made a couple of really nice plays in the gaps and also had a couple of big hits."

Gonzalez (8-4) lasted just five-plus innings on a night when he felt ill. He gave up three runs (one earned) and five hits, with no walks and five strikeouts.

In addition to staying unbeaten in his last five starts, Gonzalez improved to 4-0 in his career against the Pirates.

"The training staff really helped me out, giving me fluids and keeping me afloat," Gonzalez said. "Then the rest of guys really picked me, playing great defense and getting big hits from one through eight in the order."

Nationals third baseman Yunel Escobar had three hits, including two doubles, after sitting out the previous two games with a sore left wrist.

Shortstop Ian Desmond homered for a third straight game for the Nationals -- raising his season total to 11. He connected for a two-run shot in the seventh off Pirates rookie reliever Deolis Guerra, making it 7-3.

Desmond went 2-for-3 and is 10-for-19 during a six-game hitting streak after going 0-for-16 in his previous five games. He has provided a spark for the National League East-leading Nationals since the All-Star break after a dismal first half.

"He's still the same Ian Desmond I've known since high school," said Gonzalez, who grew up in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., area while Desmond hails from across the state in Sarasota.

"He's still a star of stars, a real stud. He just got off to a bad start and now he's playing the way we're all used to seeing him play."

Pirates right-hander A.J. Burnett (8-4) had another rocky start. He was tagged for five runs and 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings but had eight strikeouts and no walks. Burnett beat the Royals on Monday at Kansas City despite allowing six runs in six innings.

"Yeah, I got strikeouts, but strikeouts don't win ballgames," Burnett said. "You've got to keep the ball in the lanes and in the corners, and I left too many balls over the middle, especially to left-handers."

The game's first run came in the second inning when Desmond scored on a wild pitch by Burnett.

Escobar doubled to start a two-run third. He scored on a single by Gonzalez that caromed off Burnett's glove hand, and Taylor followed with an RBI single.

In the fifth, Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper doubled and scored on a single by first baseman Clint Robinson to push the lead to 4-0. Harper extended his streak of reaching base to 22 games.

Second baseman Anthony Rendon's sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth gave the Nationals a 5-0 lead. He was activated from the disabled list before the game after missing 25 games with a left quadriceps strain.

The Nationals needed the late homers after the Pirates scored three runs in the sixth to knock Gonzalez from the game. Pittsburgh drew within 5-3 on RBI singles by left fielder Starling Marte, center fielder Andrew McCutchen and catcher Francisco Cervelli, who had two hits.

NOTES: 3B Aramis Ramirez joined the Pirates two days after being acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers. He batted cleanup and went 0-for-4. ... INF Brent Morel was designated for assignment a night after hitting the tiebreaking double as a pinch hitter in the Pirates' 7-5 victory over the Nationals. He was 2-for-7 (.286) in three games. ... To open a roster spot for 2B Anthony Rendon, Washington RHP Abel de Los Santos was optioned to Double-A Harrisburg after going 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two relief appearances. ... Nationals RHP Joe Ross (2-2, 2.70 ERA) will face Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole (13-4, 2.31) on Sunday in the finale of the four-game series.