On Friday, the Pittsburgh Pirates (64-83) are visiting the Washington Nationals (60-86), at 6:45 p.m. ET. The Pirates have lost six straight, and the Nationals have dropped two straight.
The Nationals are projected as a close favorite (-110 on the moneyline) against the Pirates (-109). The Nationals will give the ball to Brad Lord (5-8) versus the Pirates and Mitch Keller (6-14).
The Nationals lost 5-0 to the Marlins yesterday, with MacKenzie Gore (five innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits while striking out four) on the hook for the loss. C.J. Abrams went 1 for 4 to lead the Nationals offensively in the defeat.
The Pirates lost to the Orioles yesterday, with Colin Holderman getting the loss while pitching one inning, giving up one earned run on one hit while striking out one. Alexander Canario went 2 for 4 with a home run and an RBI to lead the Pirates’ offense.
Here is what you need to prepare for Friday’s Nationals vs. Pirates contest, including viewing options.
Washington Nationals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates odds, line and spread
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 12:16 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
Favorite: Nationals (-110, bet $110 to win $100)Underdog: Pirates (-109, bet $109 to win $100)Over/under: 8Nationals vs. Pirates: Game time and live stream infoGame day: Friday, September 12, 2025Game time: 6:45 p.m. ETLocation: Washington D.C.Stadium: Nationals ParkTV channel: MASN and SportsNet PTLive stream: Watch LIVE with Fubo! (Regional restrictions may apply)
Watch Nationals vs. Pirates on Fubo!
Nationals stats and trendsNationals betting recordsThis season, the Nationals have been favored 18 times and won six, or 33.3%, of those games.Washington is 6-12 this season when entering a game favored by -110 or more on the moneyline.The sportsbooks’ moneyline implies a 52.4% chance of a victory for the Nationals.Washington’s games have gone over the total in 73 of its 145 chances.The Nationals are 72-73-0 against the spread in their 145 chances this season.Brad Lord (Nationals probable starter)Lord makes the start for the Nationals, his 16th of the season. He is 5-8 with a 4.20 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 109 1/3 innings pitched.The righty last pitched on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, when he threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run while giving up two hits.The 25-year-old has an ERA of 4.20, with 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings, in 44 games this season. Opponents are hitting .254 against him.Lord is looking to collect his fourth quality start of the year.Lord will look to collect his eighth game of five or more innings pitched this season. He averages 2.5 innings per appearance.He has made 21 appearances this season in which he did not allow an earned run.He will face a Pirates offense that ranks last in the league with 527 runs while batting .232 as a squad. It has a collective .349 slugging percentage (30th in MLB play) and has hit a total of 105 home runs (30th in MLB).Head-to-head against the Pirates this season, Lord has thrown 4 1/3 innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits while striking out one.Nationals batting statsThe Nationals have hit 140 homers this season, which ranks 25th in the league.Hitters for Washington have combined for a team rank of 22nd in the majors with a .390 team slugging percentage.The Nationals’ .245 batting average ranks 17th in the league this season.Washington has scored the 22nd-most runs in the majors this season with 626 (4.3 per game).The Nationals have an OBP of .308 this season, which ranks 22nd in MLB.Washington has shown patience at the plate this season with the eighth-best rate of strikeouts per game (8.1) among MLB offenses.Pirates stats and trendsPirates betting recordsThe Pirates have come away with 43 wins in the 104 contests they have been listed as the underdogs in this season.This season, Pittsburgh has been victorious 42 times in 102 chances when named as an underdog of at least -109 or worse on the moneyline.The Pirates have an implied victory probability of 52.2% according to the moneyline set by sportsbooks for this matchup.Pittsburgh and its opponents have gone over in 60 of its 146 games with a total set by sportsbooks this season.The Pirates have an against the spread record of 79-67-0 in 146 games with a line this season.Mitch Keller (Pirates probable starter)Keller (6-14) takes the mound first for the Pirates in his 30th start of the season. He’s put together a 4.16 ERA in 162 1/3 innings pitched, with 136 strikeouts.The right-hander’s most recent appearance was on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers, when he tossed 6 1/3 innings, surrendering two earned runs while allowing five hits.The 29-year-old has an ERA of 4.16, with 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 29 games this season. Opponents are hitting .252 against him.Keller enters this game with 17 quality starts under his belt this season.Keller will try to last five or more innings for his fourth straight start. He’s averaging 5.6 frames per outing.He has held his opponents without an earned run in three of his 29 appearances this season.He will face a Nationals offense that ranks 22nd in the league with 626 total runs scored while batting .245 as a unit. His opponent has a collective .390 slugging percentage (22nd in MLB play) and has hit a total of 140 home runs (25th in the league).Head-to-head against the Nationals this season, Keller has thrown six innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits while striking out three.This season, the 29-year-old ranks 36th in ERA (4.16), 29th in WHIP (1.257), and 41st in K/9 (7.5) among qualifying pitchers.Pirates batting statsThe Pirates are last in MLB play with 105 home runs.So far this season, Pittsburgh’s .349 slugging percentage is the lowest percentage in the majors.The Pirates rank 28th in the majors with a .232 batting average.The offense for Pittsburgh is No. 30 in baseball scoring 3.6 runs per game (527 total runs).The Pirates’ .305 on-base percentage is 24th in baseball.