Pittsburgh Pirates vs Washington Nationals Prediction & Betting Tips 9/8/2024

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Washington Nationals Preview

From PNC Park in Pittsburgh, we have the Nationals and Pirates facing off in an NL matchup. This game is getting started at 1:35 PM ET and is being televised on MASN. The money line odds have the Pirates at -160 compared to the Nationals at +135. The over/under line is currently 8.5 runs.

Washington comes in with a record of 64-78, while the Pirates are 66-76 overall. Patrick Corbin will start for the Nationals, while the Pirates are sending Jared Jones to the mound. Corbin is 10-7 with a 3.25 ERA, while Jones is making his MLB debut. Pittsburgh is looking to avoid a third straight loss, as they are 5th in the NL Central, while the Nationals are 4th in the NL East.

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Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Washington Nationals Trends and Key Stats

• Over the course of their previous five away games, the Nationals have recorded a 3-2 record, with a 3-2 performance on the runline.
• In the Pirates’ five most recent home games, their record stands at 3-2 (SU) with 3-2 against the spread.
• Over their last ten games when playing as the favorite, the Pirates have won 5-5 straight-up, and have a 5-5 record vs. the runline.
• Looking at the Nationals’ previous ten games as the underdog they are 5-5 straight-up and 6-4 vs. the runline.

Washington rallied for four runs in the 9th inning in the most recent game of this Nationals vs. Pirates series. The Nationals scored two runs in the 1st inning but didn’t score another run until putting up four in the top of the 9th, picking up an 8-6 win. Heading into the game, the Nationals were at +122 on the money line.

Pittsburgh wasted a good outing from Mitch Keller, as he gave up just two earned runs in six innings of work for the Pirates. Aroldis Chapman took the loss. Robert Garcia got the win out of the bullpen for the Nationals as Mitchell Parker went just 3 1/3 innings, giving up four earned runs.

Offensively, the Nationals were led by Andres Chaparro and Keibert Ruiz, as they were the only two Nationals hitters to have more than one hit. Chaparro, James Wood, and Drew Millas each homered for Washington.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Washington Nationals Prediction

Washington is 64-78 overall and is 21 games behind the Phillies in the NL East. The Nationals have gone 19-21 in divisional games this year. They have won two straight games, and their record is 5-5 over their last 10 games.

At home, the Nationals are 32-37 this year, and they are 32-41 on the road. As the underdog, the Nationals are 52-66 this year, and they have won two straight games as the underdog overall. Washington’s series record is 18-23-4 this year.

The Nationals are 43-30 on the run line on the road this season and have covered in two straight games. They are 69-49 as the underdog on the run line and 11-13 as the favorite. Their average run differential in wins is +3.3 and -3.7 in losses.

The Washington Nationals are on the road today facing the Pittsburgh Pirates. The over/under line for the game is set at 8.5 runs, which is lower than their combined run average of 9.0. This season, the Nationals have played 40.1% of their games with a higher over/under line than 8.5, and their record when the line is set at 8.5 runs is 18-22.

Left-hander Patrick Corbin gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Pirates on the road. This year, he has made 28 starts and has a record of 5-12 with an ERA of 5.41. Corbin has pitched much better on the road, coming in with a record of 2-7 and 7.11 ERA. At home, his record is 3-5, and his ERA is 4.73. Corbin has won each of his last three starts, most recently giving up two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work against the Marlins. In that outing, he had eight strikeouts. His WHIP for the season is 1.52.

So far this season, the Nationals offense has been pretty average in terms of batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. They are also in the middle of the pack in terms of runs scored, averaging 4.2 runs per game. However, they have been one of the league’s worst home run-hitting teams and have the 24th worst isolated power figure in the league.

Luis Garcia Jr. and CJ Abrams come into the game as the Nationals’ top two home run hitters, and both players have 63 RBIs. Garcia Jr. is batting .288 for the season, while Abrams is hitting just .238. Over his last 10 games, Andrés Chaparro has four homers and 10 RBIs, but is hitting just .243. Jose Tena has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 12/41 in his last 10 games.

The Pirates are 66-76 overall and trail the Reds by 1.5 games for 4th place in the NL Central. So far, they have gone 22-20 against other teams in the NL Central. Currently, they are 16 games behind the Brewers for the division lead. Pittsburgh has dropped two straight games, and they are 4-6 across their last 10 contests.

At home and on the road, the Pirates have matching records of 33-38 this season. As the underdog, the Pirates have gone 37-50 this year compared to 29-26 as the favorite. Pittsburgh’s overall series record is 19-21-5, and they are losing the series vs. the Nationals 1-2.

When the Pirates are at home, they are 35-36 against the run line, but they have been much better on the road, going 43-28. As the underdog, they are 57-30 against the run line, but as the favorite, they are just 21-34. Their average run differential is -0.4 runs per game, and they have been outscored by an average of 0.5 runs per game at home.

Today’s O/U line for the Pirates-Nationals game is 8.5 runs, which is 0.3 runs higher than the combined average runs per game in their games this season. The O/U record for the Pirates this season is 70-70, and the average O/U line for their games is 8 runs. When the O/U line has been set at 8.5 runs, the record is 28-22, and 14.8% of their games have had higher lines.

Jared Jones will be looking to pitch more like he did on June 22nd, where he picked up the win and went seven innings, giving up just two earned runs. In his most recent outing, Jones finished with a no-decision, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up three earned runs. Looking back over his last three outings, he has finished with a no-decision in two of them. Jones’ ERA for the season is 3.91, along with a record of 5-7. Opposing batters are hitting .223 this season off Jones.

Heading into today’s game, the Pirates are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 20th in the league. At home, they have been slightly better, averaging 4.4 runs per game. Overall, the Pirates are batting just .235, which is 17th in the league, and they are also near the bottom of the league in strikeouts. As a team, they are 22nd in home runs.

Bryan Reynolds has been the Pirates’ top hitter this season, batting .278 with a team-high 22 home runs and 79 RBIs. Bryan De La Cruz is 2nd on the team in homers, but he has a batting average of just .235. Reynolds has also been hot of late, going 4/17 in his last five games with three runs scored and a home run. Jared Triolo has also homered in his last five games but is just 4/17 in that stretch.

The best bet for this Nationals vs. Pirates matchup is to take the Pirates on the money line at -160. We have the Pirates winning this one by a score of 5-4, and with the payout for a Pirates win on the money line, this is the route we would recommend.

Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Jared Jones of the Pirates finishing with six strikeouts compared to Patrick Corbin with five. Jones is also predicted to go longer in this one, with Corbin going six innings and Jones going seven.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Washington Nationals Betting Tips

• Take the Pirates on the moneyline
• On the run line we like the Nationals (+1.5)
• Projecting a combined 9 runs, we like the over

Pittsburgh Pirates Injury Report

Washington Nationals Injury Report