Washington Nationals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Pick & Prediction 9/5/24

Both the Nationals and Pirates come into Thursday’s matchup with a record below .500, as the Nationals are 62-77, and the Pirates are 65-74. This one is being played at 6:40 PM ET from PNC Park in Pittsburgh, and the money line odds have the Pirates as the slight favorite, with their odds sitting at -120.

Thursday’s forecast in Pittsburgh calls for clear skies and temperatures in the low 80s. Jake Irvin will go for the Nationals, and he is facing off against Bailey Falter. MASN will be televising this NL matchup.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS VS PITTSBURGH PIRATES BETTING PICK

The Pick: Washington Nationals Moneyline +102

This game will be played at PNC Park at 6:40 ET on Thursday, September 5th.

HOW TO BET THE NATIONALS VS PIRATES:

• We have the Nationals winning by a score of 5 to 4
• If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the Nationals to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over

Nationals Records & Stats

The Nationals will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Marlins with a 4-3 loss. This was especially tough, as they held a lead going into the 8th inning before the Marlins scored three runs in the bottom of the 8th. Washington was the -145 favorite on the money line going into the game.

MacKenzie Gore put together a good start for the Nationals, going six innings and giving up just one earned run while striking out nine. However, the Nationals couldnjson’t close things out, and Derek Law took the loss out of the bullpen. The Nationals also wasted a big game from James Wood, who went 2/4 with two doubles and a run scored.

Washington is 62-77 overall, putting them 4th in the NL East, 21 games behind the Phillies for the division lead. So far, they have gone 19-21 in divisional games. The Nationals will be on the road today, and they are 30-40 as the visiting team.

The Nationals have struggled as the underdog this year, going 50-65, which includes going 26-36 as the underdog on the road. They are an even 12-12 as the favorite. Washington’s overall series record is 18-23-4 coming into today’s game, and they split their most recent series vs. the Marlins.

Washington has been a good run line bet this season, as they have a 78-61 run line record. They have been especially good on the road, going 41-29 on the run line. They have been a better bet as an underdog, going 67-48 on the run line in those games.

The Washington Nationals are on the road today against 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 8.9 runs per game. The Nationals’ over/under record for the season is 66-68, and their average over/under line is 9 runs. When the line is set at 8.5 runs, their record is 18-21. Overall, 41.0% of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 8.5 runs. The under has hit in their last two games.

Jake Irvin gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces off against the Pirates on the road. So far this season, he has made 28 starts and has a record of 9-11 to go along with an ERA of 4.08. Looking at his overall numbers, Irvin has a WHIP of 1.19 and has given up a total of 26 home runs. In his last outing, he took the loss, giving up six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. Before that, he had turned in three straight outings with no more than two earned runs allowed. Per nine innings, Irvin is averaging 7.6 strikeouts and just 2.24 walks.

Washington’s offense has been one of the worst in the league this season, as they are just 21st in runs per game and are also near the bottom of the league in home runs. The Nationals do have a team batting average of .244, which is 11th in the league, but they are also one of the league’s worst teams in terms of isolated power.

Luis Garcia Jr. comes into the game with a batting average of .290 and is leading the Nationals with 63 RBIs. He also has 15 homers, which is 2nd on the team. CJ Abrams has gone deep 18 times this season but is batting just .240. Over his last five games, Andres Chaparro is just 3/18, and Dylan Crews is also struggling, going 3/22 in his last five games.

Pirates Records & Stats

Pittsburgh is coming off a game in which they were shut out 12-0 by the Cubs. This was especially tough, as the Pirates were the +178 underdog going into this road game. Things really got away from the Pirates in the 2nd inning, as the Cubs scored three runs in the inning. Pittsburgh’s offense was held to just three hits, all of which were singles.

Domingo German got the start for the Pirates and took the loss. He only lasted three innings, giving up six earned runs on nine hits. The Pirates also issued three walks in the loss.

Pittsburgh is 5th in the NL Central, trailing the Reds by 1.5 games for the 4th spot in the division. Overall, the Pirates are 65-74 and trail the Brewers by 15.5 games in the NL Central. They are just two games below .500 against other NL teams (43-45) and are 22-20 against other teams in the NL Central.

At home, the Pirates are 32-36 this season and 33-38 on the road. As the underdog, Pittsburgh is 37-50 this year and 28-24 as the favorite. Their overall series record is 19-21-5, and they won their most recent series vs. the Cubs. The Pirates are 4-6 across their last ten games.

When the Pirates win, they do so by an average of 3.2 runs. When they lose, they lose by an average of 3.6 runs. The Pirates have been a good bet on the run line this season, going 77-62. They are 34-34 at home on the run line and 43-28 on the road. They are 57-30 on the run line as an underdog and 20-32 as a favorite. They have failed to cover the run line in their last three games at home.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are playing at home today against the Washington Nationals. The over/under line for the game is set at 8.5 runs. The combined run average for Pirates games this season is 8.8 runs. Overall, the Pirates’ over/under record for the season is 68-69. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, the Pirates have a record of 28-21. So far this season, 15.1% of their games have had over/under lines set at 8.5 runs.

Bailey Falter gets the start for the Pirates today and is looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Guardians. In that August 30th start, he gave up four earned runs in four innings of work. Falter finished with a no-decision in the outing. Looking back at his last three starts, he has finished with a no-decision in all three. The left-hander has made 23 starts this season and has a record of 6-7 with an ERA of 4.41. Opposing batters are hitting .260 off Falter this season. Per nine innings, he is averaging 6.27 strikeouts and 2.63 walks.

Heading into today’s game, the Pirates are 23rd in the league in scoring, averaging 4.2 runs per game. They have been slightly better at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game. Overall, they are batting just .235 as a team, which is 16th in the league. Their team on-base percentage of .301 is 19th in the league.

Bryan Reynolds has been the Pirates’ best hitter this season, as he is batting .280 with a team-high 22 homers and 77 RBIs. He is also on a seven-game hitting streak and has gone 8/27 in his last seven games. Andrew McCutchen has also been swinging a hot bat, going 4/15 with two homers in his past four games.