Washington @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 24, 2015 ) Washington 5, Pittsburgh 7

Ian Desmond certainly has changed his fortunes in a heartbeat, going 8-for-16 during his five-game hitting streak following a 16-at-bat hitless run over his previous five contests. Desmond looks to continue his personal positive stretch and prevent the Washington Nationals from dropping their sixth contest in eight outings on Saturday when they visit the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Desmond, who belted his second homer in as many days as Washington suffered a 7-5 setback on Friday, is just 3-for-21 (.143) with eight strikeouts in his career versus Saturday starter A.J. Burnett. Pedro Alvarez has gone deep in back-to-back outings for Pittsburgh, which has belted six homers in the first two of a four-game series. The offensive outburst was certainly a welcome one as the Pirates went deep just twice on their 1-5 trip prior to this set. Jung Ho Kang has recorded multi-hit performances in each of his last six outings.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Washington), ROOT (Pittsburgh)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals LH Gio Gonzalez (7-4, 3.93 ERA) vs. Pirates RH A.J. Burnett (8-3, 2.44)

Gonzalez extended his winning streak to three on Monday after allowing two runs on six hits in as many innings of a 7-2 victory over the New York Mets. The 29-year-old began his torrid stretch by scattering four hits over seven scoreless frames of a 9-2 triumph against Pittsburgh on June 21. Gonzalez has dominated the Pirates in his career, posting a 3-0 mark with a 2.95 ERA while limiting them to a .230 batting average.

Aesthetically pleasing it was not, but Burnett walked away with the win on Monday despite allowing six runs on 11 hits - including two homers - in a 10-7 victory over Kansas City. The 38-year-old matched the sum run total of his last three starts (21 innings) while the two blasts he permitted raised his total to just six in 125 1/3 frames this season. Burnett fell to 12-6 with a 3.23 ERA in his career versus Washington after yielding four runs on a season-high 14 hits in 6 2/3 innings of a 4-1 setback on June 19.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pittsburgh LF Starling Marte is 11-for-21 with three runs scored during his five-game hitting streak.

2. Washington OF Jayson Werth (wrist) could return as early as the middle of next week, manager Matt Williams said.

3. Acquired from Milwaukee on Thursday, 3B Aramis Ramirez is expected to play for Pittsburgh on Saturday.

PREDICTION: Nationals 3, Pirates 2