Nationals vs Pirates Prediction & MLB Odds For Sunday, September 8th
The money line odds have the Pirates at -160 compared to the Nationals at +135, and the over/under line is sitting at 8.5 runs. Jared Jones is starting for the Pirates, while the Nationals are going with Patrick Corbin. Washington is 64-78, and the Pirates have lost two straight and are 5th in the NL Central at 66-76.
First pitch from PNC Park is set for 1:35 PM ET, and MASN will be televising this NL matchup. The forecast for Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh calls for clear skies and temperatures in the low 60s.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Nationals 1.5 (-160) | Pirates -1.5 (+132)
- Total: 8.5
- MoneyLine: Nationals +135 | Pirates -160
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Nationals vs. Pirates Prediction: Moneyline
It was a high-scoring game in the most recent game of this Nationals vs. Pirates series. Washington went into the matchup as +122 underdogs and squeaked out an 8-6 win. The Nationals had a huge 9th inning, scoring four runs to take the lead, and the Pirates couldn’t respond in the bottom half of the inning.
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 came out of the bullpen and took the loss. Robert Garcia got the win for the Nationals out of the bullpen, and Kyle Finnegan got the save.
Offensively, the Nationals were led by Andres Chaparro, Keibert Ruiz, and James Wood, as they were the only three Nationals hitters to have more than one hit. Chaparro also hit the game’s only home run.
Washington is 64-78 overall this season, and they are 21 games behind the Phillies in the NL East. The Nationals have gone 19-21 against other teams in their division. Currently, they are in 4th place in the NL East and are 8.0 games behind the Reds for the final Wild Card spot.
The Nationals have won two straight games, and this came after dropping five in a row. At home, the Nationals are 32-37 this year, and they are just below .500 at 32-41 on the road. Washington has an overall series record of 18-23-4 this year.
Pittsburgh is 66-76 overall and trails the Reds by 1.5 games for 4th place in the NL Central. The Pirates are 16 games behind the Brewers for the division lead. They have dropped two straight games, and this came after winning the first game of this series vs. the Nationals.
At home, the Pirates are 33-38 this season, with a 33-38 record on the road. As the favorite, the Pirates have gone 29-26 and 37-50 as the underdog. Pittsburgh has lost two straight games as the favorite. So far, they are 18-20 as the favorite at home, and their overall series record is 19-21-5.
Nationals vs. Pirates Prediction: Over/Under
Washington Nationals games have averaged 9.0 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 68-69. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, their record is 18-22. Overall, 57 of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 8.5 runs, accounting for 40.1% of their games. Today’s over/under line is set at 8.5 runs.
Washington’s offense is batting a collective .245 this season, which is 10th in the league. However, they are near the bottom of the league in home runs and have an isolated power figure of just .134, which is 24th in the MLB. The Nationals are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 19th in the league. Over his last 10 games, Andrés Chaparro has gone 9/37 with four homers, and Jose Tena is also swinging a hot bat, going 12/41 in that span.
Luis Garcia Jr. and CJ Abrams are the Nationals’ top home run hitters this season, with 15 and 18 homers, respectively. Both players are also tied for the team lead with 63 RBIs. Abrams is batting just .238 this season, and Garcia Jr. comes in with a batting average of .288.
The Pirates have played to an over/under record of 70-70 this season, with an average combined run average of 8.8 runs per game. Their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs, but when the line has been set at 8.5 runs, they have gone over the total in 28 of 50 games. In total, 21 of their games have had over/under lines set at 8.5 runs, which accounts for 14.8% of their games this season.
Yasmani Grandal has been a bright spot for the Pirates lineup of late, as he comes into the game on a nine-game hitting streak. However, the Pirates will need more than just Grandal’s bat, as they are batting just .235 as a team, which is 17th in the league. As a team, they are also near the bottom of the league in home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Bryan Reynolds has been the Pirates’ top hitter this season, as he is batting .278 with a team-high 22 home runs and 79 RBIs. Reynolds has also been one of the Pirates most consistent hitters of late, going 4/17 in his last five games. Bryan De La Cruz is 2nd on the team in homers but is batting just .235 for the season.
Nationals vs. Pirates Prediction: Spread
Washington is 43-30 against the run line on the road, and they have covered in two straight games. They are 69-49 as the underdog against the run line this season, and their average run margin in losing games is -3.7.
Washington is sending left-hander Patrick Corbin to the mound today vs. the Pirates. He has made 28 starts this season and has a record of 5-12 with a 5.41 ERA. Corbin’s WHIP for the season is 1.52, and opponents are batting .290 off him this year. Corbin has pitched much better at home, coming in with a 4.73 ERA compared to 7.11 on the road. His last outing came on September 3rd, where he picked up the win, going 5 2/3 innings and giving up two earned runs. Before that, he had won two straight starts.
When the Pirates win, they win big, with an average run margin of 3.3 runs per game. When they lose, they lose by an average of 3.6 runs per game. Their run line record is 78-64, with a run line record of 35-36 at home and 43-28 on the road. They have lost two straight games against the run line at home and are 2-2 against the run line in their last four games as the favorite.
Jared Jones gets the start for the Pirates today and comes in with a record of 5-7 and an ERA of 3.91. So far this season, he has made 18 starts, and opponents are batting .223 off the right-hander. In his last outing, Jones finished with a no-decision, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up three earned runs on six hits. Looking back over his last three starts, he has finished with a no-decision in two of them and took the loss in the other. Jones has given up at least one homer in each of his last three outings.
Nationals vs. Pirates Pick: Pirates ML -160
Our prediction for today’s Nationals vs. Pirates game is to take the Pirates on the money line at -160. We have the Pirates winning this one by a score of 5-4. If you’re looking for a parlay pick, you could also consider taking the over, as the line is currently sitting at 8.5 runs.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Jared Jones finishing with six strikeouts compared to Patrick Corbin with five. Jones is also projected to go longer in this one, as we have him going six innings compared to Corbin at five.
