Pirates vs. Nationals Tuesday Prediction
The Washington Nationals picked up a home victory against the surging Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night and now they have their ace on the hill for Tuesday’s matchup at 7:05 p.m. ET. What’s the best play on the board for bettors in this matchup?
Game Snapshot & Odds
951 Pittsburgh Pirates (+220) at 952 Washington Nationals (-240); 7.5 runs
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
7:05 p.m. ET, Nationals Park
TV: PIT (ATTP); WSH (MASN)
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Public Betting Trends
Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Nationals as a -240 favorite. As of this writing, 76% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Nationals to beat the Pirates on the money line. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our MLB Public Betting Page for updated figures on this game.
Pirates’ Kuhl strikes out eight in win vs. Tigers
Chad Kuhl struck out eight hitters and allowed three runs in six innings in an 8-3 win over the Tigers on Wednesday. Kuhl gave up a two-run shot to Leonys Martin in the fifth inning, but outside of that he was solid in the victory. The right-hander’s ERA now sits at 4.55, but he’s struck out 25 hitters in just-under 28 innings, and that ERA should start to drop with a little more luck.
Nationals’ Scherzer coming off dominant performance vs. Giants
Max Scherzer allowed five hits and two runs over six innings Wednesday in the Nationals’ win over the Giants. He struck out 10 and walked two while throwing 74 of his 99 pitches for strikes. Scherzer went 0-for-4 at the plate, which ended his four-game hitting streak. The stakes were pretty low for Scherzer in this one as the three-time Cy Young winner spent most of the afternoon pitching with a gigantic lead.
He yielded a run in the second inning on an RBI double to Nick Hundley and let another run come across in the sixth on an RBI double by Pablo Sandoval. Scherzer has been dominant as ever in the early going, cruising to a 1.62 ERA through six starts.
MLB Betting Trends
Pittsburgh
The Pirates are just 19-39 in their last 58 games versus the Nationals in Washington and are 1-7 in Kuhl’s last eight road starts.
Washington
The Nationals have won nine of Scherzer’s last 11 outings at home, are 39-15 in his last 54 starts overall, and have won 20 of his last 27 starts coming off five days of rest.
Prediction:
The Pirates aren’t going to sniff Scherzer and the Nationals haven’t exactly been tearing the cover off the ball so this looks like a good spot for the under. In the last eight meetings between these two teams in Washington, the under is 6-1-1. The under is also 3-1-1 in the last five meetings between these two teams overall, including in yesterday’s 3-2 win for the Nationals.
The Pick: Pirates/Nationals under 7.5