Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Washington Nationals MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 6/14/2021
Pittsburgh Pirates (23-40) vs. Washington Nationals (26-35)
June 14, 2021 7:05 pm EDT
The Line: Washington Nationals -130 / Pittsburgh Pirates +120; Over/Under: +9
(Get latest betting odds)
The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals meet Monday in MLB action from Nationals Park. The Pirates are coming off a weekend series versus the Brewers. Pittsburgh lost the first two installments in that set, then on Sunday the Pirates fell again by three runs. As for the Nationals, they played the Giants over the weekend. Washington lost two of the first three games, then in the Sunday finale the Nats managed a shutout victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Pittsburgh had some trouble with the Brewers over the weekend, losing 7-4 in both the Friday and Saturday games. In the Sunday finale, the Pirates took a 5-2 loss and the sweep. Starter Wil Crowe managed 5.0 innings with two earned on two hits.
For the Monday starting pitcher role, the Pirates are going with JT Brubaker. Over his 60.0 innings so far this year, Brubaker has 58 hits, 26 earned runs, 10 homers allowed, 13 walks, 62 Ks and a 3.90 ERA overall.
Over on the Nationals side, they beat San Francisco in one of the doubleheader games on Saturday, but also lost Friday to start the series 1-2. On Sunday, Washington posted three runs in the second inning on the way to a 5-0 shutout win. Joe Ross was great on 8.0 innings with five hits and no earned.
For the starter job in the Monday game, the Nationals are going with Jon Lester. Across his 38.2 innings of work this year, Lester has 42 hits, 18 earned runs, six homers allowed, 16 walks, 27 Ks and a 4.19 ERA.
The Pirates are 26-54 in their last 80 in game one of a series and 20-47 in their last 67 Monday games. Pittsburgh is 8-17 in their last 25 versus the NL East and 17-50 in their last 67 road games.
Meanwhile, the Nationals are 1-5 in their last six in game one of a series and 5-1 in their last six versus a team with a winning percentage below .400. The under is 7-0 in the Nationals’ last seven in game one of a series and 22-5 in their last 27 home games.
PICK: I’m going to stick with the Nationals, so long as Lester can find some semblance of form again. In his last outing, Lester lasted just 3.2 innings with four hits and four walks versus the Rays. He had command issues and couldn’t find the strike zone. The good news is that Lester has given up just one earned in each of his last three. If he can make it through five innings or so I think Washington will be okay.
