Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Washington Nationals, 4/14/2019 Predictions & Odds

Pirates vs. Nationals Sunday Prediction

The Pirates and Nationals will be taking their swings in a hitter’s park on Sunday but based on the pitching matchup, is the under the best play on the board? Jameson Taillon will square off against Max Scherzer at 1:35 p.m. ET.

Game Snapshot & Odds

953 Pittsburgh Pirates (+165) at 954 Washington Nationals (-185); 8 runs

Sunday, April 14, 2019

1:35 p.m. ET, Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.

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Public Betting Trends

According to our MLB Public Betting Chart page, 72% of the betting tickets are on the Nationals to beat the Pirates on the moneyline.

Pittsburgh Pirates Fantasy Spin

Melky Cabrera went 3-for-4 with a homer in a loss to the Nationals on Saturday. Cabrera gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning when he deposited an Anibal Sanchez shot into the right-field seats for his first homer of the season. It's been a very strong start to the year for Cabrera, as he's now hitting .432 with a 1.042 OPS. Obviously, this isn't sustainable, but Cabrera has succeeded in a full-time role before. He's just not likely to have one when Gregory Polanco and Lonnie Chisenhall come off the injured list.

Washington Nationals Fantasy Spin

Adam Eaton went 3-for-4 and hit a game-tying homer in the eighth inning on Saturday against the Pirates. The Nationals could get nothing going against Chris Archer on Saturday, but Eaton was able to even things up with a solo shot off of Richard Rodriguez in the eighth with two outs. A batter later, Howie Kendrick would untie the game, and the Nationals have their seventh victory of the season. Eaton is now hitting .286/.365/.375 to begin the season, and offers some fantasy relevance as long as he's hitting at the top of that Washington lineup.

MLB Betting Trends

Pittsburgh

The Pirates have dropped 43 of their last 63 games at Nationals Park.

Washington

The Nationals have won 57 of Scherzer’s last 84 starts.

Prediction:

The Pirates are hitting .282 in 71 at bats versus Scherzer and struck out just 17 times during those 71 ABs. That said, the Bucs lack for power so even if the ball is put into play a lot today, Scherzer should still keep Pittsburgh’s run-scoring efforts to a minimum. On the other side is Taillon, who has held the Nats to a .220 average in 41 at bats, with one home run and four runs. He doesn’t figure to register a lot of strikeouts but again, runs should be at a premium today.

The Pick: Pirates/Nationals UNDER 8