Saturday baseball and we will see the Washington Nationals take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. First pitch is scheduled for a 4:05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised on Fox. Current Betting Odds, according to Sportsbook.ag, have Washington listed as the favorite.
Current Odds
Washington -136
Pittsburgh +126
Over/ Under: 7 U -115
Analysis: Despite the return of cleanup hitter Ryan Zimmerman from the disabled list, the Nationals once again struggled to mount any offense. In the 15 games since Zimmerman went down, Washington has totaled 38 runs. The Nationals, who have scored three or fewer runs in six straight contests, also discovered Friday they will be without Jayson Werth for the rest of the series due to a hamstring injury. Adam LaRoche may have been the only bright spot in the loss as he halted a 2-for-38 spell over his last 11 games with a 2-for-3 effort. The Washington Nationals have been so protective of Stephen Strasburg since he entered the majors that even the potential of an injury creates a stir. After the concern was alleviated earlier in the week, Strasburg seeks to end his five-start winless streak as Washington looks to avoid a third straight loss to the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Strasburg has dropped four straight decisions and is winless over his last five starts despite allowing three or fewer earned runs four times. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 draft reportedly battled through forearm tightness Monday but did not factor into the decision in a 3-2 loss at Atlanta. The hard-throwing right-hander yielded two runs and six hits over six innings while striking out a season-high eight Braves. Strasburg is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in two all-time starts against Pittsburgh.
After struggling for most of April, Andrew McCutchen has come alive. The two-time All-Star will attempt to continue his recent surge as his Pittsburgh Pirates eye their fifth straight home win Saturday against the Washington Nationals. McCutchen saw his batting average dip as low as .216 last Saturday, but has raised it to .257 over the last four games following a four-hit effort Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers and a three-hit performance in Friday’s series-opening win against Washington. McCutchen is batting .456 with 11 homers and 22 RBIs in 24 career games against the Nationals. Jeff Locke brings a 13-inning scoreless streak into this start, holding the opposition to five hits over that span. The 25-year-old left-hander went seven innings in Sunday’s 9-0 win over St. Louis, giving up only three hits and two walks against the Cardinals. While he has excelled on the road in 2013, Locke has been much better in his career at PNC Park (3.76 ERA) than away from home (5.77). The ex-Atlanta Braves farmhand will oppose Washington for the first time in his career.
Pick: I like the Under in this one. The Nats offense has been piss poor of late and It's doesn't figure to get much better vs Jeff Locke, who has thrown 13 scoreless innings in his last 2 starts. He has been stellar and should be able to keep this weak hitting Nationals offense at bay, especially in this park. Stephen Strasburg has pitched in some bad luck as he has a 3.13 ERA on the year, but with a 1-4 record. That would indicate plenty of low scoring games in his starts and that would be accurate as his starts have averaged just 5.6 rpg. This is a pitchers park and with two solid pitchers on the mound and 1 very weak offense, we should get no more than 4 or 5 runs in this one.
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MLB Free Picks: Washington Nationals at Pittsburgh Pirates
What baseball bettors need to know about Washington Nationals at Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday (5/04/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Marco D'Angelo, with Ken Thomson.