Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Washington Nationals MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 6/16/2021

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals meet Wednesday in MLB action at Nationals Park. The Pirates need a win to snap a nine-game losing streak. The Nationals look for a win after winning five of their last seven games.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have scored five runs in their last three games and three or less runs in seven of their last nine games. The Pirates have lost 17 straight games when scoring three or less runs. Adam Frazier leads the Pirates with 85 hits and 24 RBI while Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman have combined for 109 hits and 43 RBI. Chase De Jong gets the ball, and he is 0-0 with a 4.80 ERA and 12 strikeouts this season. This will be Jong’s first career game against the Nationals.

The Washington Nationals have scored 16 runs in their last three games and three or less runs in five of their last eight games. The Nationals have lost five of their last eight games when scoring three or less runs. Trea Turner leads the Nationals with 80 hits and 31 RBI while Starlin Castro and Josh Harrison have combined for 108 hits and 44 RBI. The Washington Nationals didn’t announce a starting pitcher at the time this article was published.

The Pirates are 17-52 in their last 69 road games and 46-94 in their last 140 overall. The Nationals are 1-4 in their last 5 during game 3 of a series. The over is 7-3-1 in Pirates last 11 road games. The under is 37-13-3 in Nationals last 53 overall. The Pirates are 21-44 in the last 65 meetings in Washington and 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.

The Nationals didn’t announce a starting pitcher for this contest, but I’m not sure it matters. The Pittsburgh Pirates can’t string together consistent offense and they’re automatic fade material with nine straight losses. There’s no backing the Pirates until they break out of this funk. Give me the Nationals here regardless of who takes the mound.