Pirates aim to end 5-game slide, take on the Nationals

Updated Jun. 29, 2022 3:01 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Pittsburgh Pirates (29-45, third in the NL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (29-48, fifth in the NL East)

Washington; Wednesday, 1:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Mitch Keller (2-5, 4.77 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 55 strikeouts); Nationals: Paolo Espino (0-1, 2.21 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 30 strikeouts)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Nationals -130, Pirates +111; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates aim to break a five-game slide with a win against the Washington Nationals.

Washington is 29-48 overall and 14-26 at home. The Nationals have gone 20-34 in games when they have given up a home run.

Pittsburgh is 29-45 overall and 12-25 on the road. The Pirates have a 22-13 record in games when they record at least eight hits.

Wednesday's game is the seventh time these teams meet this season. The season series is tied 3-3.

TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Bell has a .315 batting average to rank second on the Nationals, and has 13 doubles, two triples and 11 home runs. Luis Garcia is 12-for-37 with two RBI over the past 10 games.

Bryan Reynolds has eight doubles, three triples and 12 home runs while hitting .252 for the Pirates. Jack Suwinski is 6-for-34 with two doubles and four home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 6-4, .238 batting average, 2.56 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs

Pirates: 4-6, .221 batting average, 4.50 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs

INJURIES: Nationals: Carter Kieboom: 60-Day IL (forearm), Evan Lee: 15-Day IL (flexor), Stephen Strasburg: 15-Day IL (ribs), Hunter Harvey: 60-Day IL (pronator), Victor Arano: 15-Day IL (knee), Josh Rogers: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Mason Thompson: 60-Day IL (biceps), Sean Doolittle: 60-Day IL (elbow), Anibal Sanchez: 60-Day IL (neck), Will Harris: 60-Day IL (pectoral), Seth Romero: 60-Day IL (calf), Joe Ross: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Pirates: David Bednar: day-to-day (lower back), Max Kranick: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jake Marisnick: 60-Day IL (thumb), Zach Thompson: 15-Day IL (forearm), Yoshitomo Tsutsugo: 10-Day IL (back), Dillon Peters: 15-Day IL (back), Tucupita Marcano: 10-Day IL (covid-19), Canaan Smith-Njigba: 60-Day IL (wrist), Duane Underwood Jr.: 15-Day IL (covid-19), Ben Gamel: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Kevin Newman: 60-Day IL (groin), Roberto Perez: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Greg Allen: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Blake Cederlind: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Mears: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.