Pittsburgh @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 1, 2011 ) Pittsburgh 1, Washington 2

THE STORY: Good things tend to happen for the Washington Nationals when the Pittsburgh Pirates are in town. Davey Johnson can attest to that. The Nationals, who have won six straight over the Pirates, will try to build off their first win under Johnson in a day-night doubleheader Saturday. Washington won Friday’s 2-1 opener on a walk-off single from pinch-hitter Matt Stairs. The second game is makeup of a rainout May 17.

TV: 3:35 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals LH John Lannan (5-5, 3.48 ERA) vs. Pirates RH James McDonald (5-4, 4.52). Lannan has been instrumental to the Nationals’ success over the past month, going 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in his last seven starts. The lefthander was as sharp as normal, but managed to give up only three runs despite allowing 11 hits in a 5 2/3 innings of a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday. He is 1-4 with a 4.63 ERA in eight starts against the Pirates. Lefties are hitting .218 against Lannan this season, but Matt Diaz (11-for-27) has fared well against him. McDonald was moved up in the rotation for his last outing in order to give Charlie Morton’s fatigued arm a break, but he didn’t seem effected by the quick turnaround. The righthander held Boston to five hits and two unearned runs in six innings of a 4-2 setback on Sunday. His only two appearances against Washington have come in relief.

ABOUT THE NATIONALS (41-41): Washington snapped a three-game losing streak on Friday, but is still struggling to score. The Nationals’ scoreless streak reached 14 innings before Roger Bernadina led off the sixth inning with his fifth homer of the season. Amazingly, the Nationals have won a major-league best 11 games when scoring two runs or less. It is even more remarkable when you consider Washington had the second-worst ERA in baseball last season (4.58). Part of the reason for their offensive struggles is injuries. Jayson Werth, who is battling knee and hip injuries, is mired in a 2-for-22 slump. Ian Desmond (quadriceps) has only three hits in his last 30 at bats.

ABOUT THE PIRATES (41-40): The Pirates are off to their best start in 12 years, but they can’t seem to get more than two games better than .500. Pittsburgh has had seven chances to move three games over the break-even mark and has lost each time. Don’t blame reliever Chris Resop for Friday’s loss, though. Resop entered in the eighth inning with the go-ahead runner on second and struck out the Nationals’ three biggest bats - Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Laynce Nix - in succession. Despite the loss, the Pirates still have a chance to win their 10th road series of the season. It would be the most they have won on the road since 2007. Pittsburgh may be without second baseman Neil Walker, who had missed two games with a sore back. He entered as late-inning defensive replacement Friday.

FINAL PITCH: At the half-way mark, the Nationals have played the fewest home games in the National League (36).