Washington @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( May 23, 2014 ) Washington 3, Pittsburgh 4
Pittsburgh starting pitchers have only seven wins, but Saturday's starter — right-hander Gerrit Cole — has accounted for four of them. The top overall pick in 2011 will try to add to that total when the Pirates aim for a fourth straight victory Saturday against the visiting Washington Nationals, who will start a former No. 1 pick of their own in fireballer Stephen Strasburg. Pittsburgh has claimed the first two games of the four-game set and has won four of five overall.
Washington is 1-for-22 with runners in scoring position and has left 27 men on base during a three-game losing streak, and turning that around might be a tough task against Cole. The former UCLA star dazzled the Nationals in his only previous start against them, holding them to one run on two hits over seven innings in a 5-1 victory last season. Current Washington players are a combined 1-for-13 against Cole with Wilson Ramos accounting for the only hit with a solo homer.
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, FOX
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Stephen Strasburg (3-3, 3.38 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Gerrit Cole (4-3, 3.84)
Strasburg has quieted some of the concerns about his slow start by posting six straight quality starts, but he has only two wins over that stretch. He held Cincinnati to two runs over seven innings last time out but didn't factor in the decision in a 4-3 loss. Strasburg is 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in four starts against Pittsburgh, and the loss came in a 4-2 defeat last season in which he struck out 12 and allowed one run and two hits in eight innings.
Cole is coming off a solid outing in a road win over the New York Yankees in which he struck out eight and allowed three runs over six innings. The 23-year-old has racked up six or more strikeouts in six of his nine starts, including four straight outings. Cole is 2-0 at home this season and 10-5 at PNC Park in his young career.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pirates 1B Ike Davis, who has reached base in 18 of his last 19 games, is 4-for-13 with two homers against Strasburg.
2. The Nationals are 20-1 when scoring four or more runs and 4-23 when scoring three or fewer, which they've done in three straight games.
3. Pittsburgh CF Andrew McCutchen, who had a five-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-4 night Friday, is 1-for-10 with four strikeouts against Strasburg.
PREDICTION: Pirates 3, Nationals 2