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The Nation's Capital will be treated to a doubleheader today as weather postponed the start of the series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Pirates-Nationals prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Pirates are the best team in the national league right now and have won nine of their last ten games. They just took two of three from the Dodgers, and now head to Washington to continue their dominance on the season. The Nationals have been bad this year, but are not the worst team in baseball as some suspected they would be. They did just take two of three from the Mets, and that was coming off taking two of three from the Twins. The Nats are not a complete rollover and should be competitive in front of their home faithful in this one.
Here are the Pirates-Nationals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Pirates-Nationals Odds
Pittsburgh Pirates: -1.5 (+114)
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (-142)
Over: 9 runs (-108)
Under:9 runs (-112)
How To Watch Pirates vs. Nationals
TV: ATTP / MASN
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 1:05 PM ET/ 11:05 AM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread
The Pirates are off to their best start since 1992. In the final game of the series against the Dodgers, it was Mitch Keller throwing a gem. He went six innings giving up just two runs while striking out five. The Pirate's entire pitching staff has been pitching great. They currently sit eighth in baseball with a team ERA of 3.60. The starters have been great, as the Pirates lead baseball with 16 quality starts on the year. The bullpen is doing their part too, as they lead baseball with 12 saves on the year. David Bednar has eight of those saves to lead all of baseball. He has a .75 ERA on the season and a 15-strikeout per one-walk ratio.
It is not just the pitching staff doing the work. The Pirates are doing it on the offense side as well. They are currently seventh in all of baseball in runs scored with 132 on the season. Ke'Bryan Hayes and Ji Hwan Bae lead the way with 15 runs scored each. Bae is also stealing bases at a great rate. He has stolen 10 bases in the year to lead the team. Adding to the offensive production is Bryan Reynolds, who is hitting .301 on the year, with 20 RBIs and five home runs.
The Pirates will send Vince Velasquez to the mound for the first start of the day. He enters the game with a 3-2 record on the season and has been the winning pitcher in three straight games. After struggling in his first two starts of the season, Velasquez has turned things around. Last time out, he gave up just two hits and two walks while striking out ten in seven scoreless innings of work.
Why The Nationals Could Cover The Spread
The Nats are riding high coming off a 4-2 road trip. In that time frame, the Nationals have started scoring. They scored 31 runs in those six games, which is just two less than they had scored in the previous ten combined. One of the key factors contributing to the Nationals' recent success is their hitting. The lineup shakeup in New York, featuring Michael Chavis starting at second base and Joey Meneses playing first base, has injected new life into the team's offense. Meneses leads the team with 26 hits and has driven in nine runs on the season. He has not hit many home runs this season, but he has power, and they will come.
C.J. Abrams is leading the team in RBIs on the sear, as he is hitting .222 with two home runs, two triples, and three doubles. His 13 RBIS is one more than Jeimer Candelario, who is hitting .232 on the season. The biggest issue right now for the Nats are the walks-to-strikeout ratio. They have struck out 170 times this year but only walked 76. Nationals batters need to be more patient at the plate and start drawing some walks to continue to improve.
Patrick Corbin is expected to be on the mound for game one of the doubleheader for the Nationals. Corbin is 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA on the season and 1 .69 WHIP. He has given up two or more runs in every start this year, as well as five or more hits in all of them. Corbin is not the same pitcher he was when he helped the Nats win a World Series in 2019, but he can still give some quality innings.
Final Pirates-Nationals Prediction & Pick
While the Nationals have been surprisingly hot in the last six games, the Pirates have been even hotter. They are potentially playing the best in baseball right now and it takes a lot to beat them. Often a team has to score a lot of runs to have enough to beat the Pirates. The Nationals just do not have that firepower, plus they will be giving up plenty in this game. Patrick Corbin has been awful so far this year, and it will not get any better in this one.
Final Pirates-Nationals Prediction & Pick: Pirates -1.5 (+114)
