Pittsburgh Pirates at Washington Nationals 6/29/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

Nationals Park will play host to a Wednesday afternoon MLB battle between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals. The Pirates (29-45) are looking to snap a five-game losing streak and are 12.5 games off the pace in the NL Central Division race. Last night, Pittsburgh went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and struck out 13 times during a 3-1 road loss against Washington.

Twenty-six year old righty Mitch Keller (2-5 4.77 ERA) is starting to put things together for the Pirates. Over his last five starts, Keller has limited his opponents to ten runs (9 ER) and allowed just one long ball.

The Washington Nationals have dropped 26 of their first 40 home games and are trying to climb out of the NL East Division basement. On Tuesday, pinch hitter Yadiel Hernandez delivered a clutch two-run double in the eighth inning to put Washington ahead to stay. SP Patrick Corbin (4-10) allowed one run across eight frames to earn the win for the Nationals, who improved to 29-48 on the year.

Thirty-five year old righty Paolo Espino (0-1 2.21 ERA) will make his fourth start of the season for the Nationals. Last time out, Espino allowed one run in five plus innings during a 2-1 road victory against Texas.