Two teams on losing skids — the Pittsburgh Pirates (six in a row) and the Washington Nationals (two in a row) — clash on Friday at 6:45 p.m. ET, at Nationals Park.
The Pirates (-110 moneyline odds to win) and the Nationals (-109) will take the field in an expected close contest. The starting pitchers are Mitch Keller (6-14) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Brad Lord (5-8) for the Washington Nationals.
The Pirates lost 3-2 to the Orioles yesterday, with Colin Holderman (one inning, giving up one earned run on one hit while striking out one) on the hook for the loss. Alexander Canario went 2 for 4 with a home run and an RBI to lead the Pirates offensively in the defeat.
Yesterday, the Nationals lost to the Marlins 5-0. MacKenzie Gore was the losing pitcher after he went five innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits while striking out four. C.J. Abrams paced the Nationals’ offense, going 1 for 4.
Ahead of watching this Pirates vs. Nationals matchup, here’s what you need to know about Friday’s action on the diamond, including viewing options.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Washington Nationals odds, line and spread
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 6:18 p.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
Favorite: Pirates (-110, bet $110 to win $100)Underdog: Nationals (-109, bet $109 to win $100)Over/under: 8Pirates vs. Nationals: 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 Pirates vs. Nationals on Fubo!
Pirates stats and trendsPirates betting recordsThe Pirates have won 20, or 50%, of the 40 games they’ve played as favorites this season.Pittsburgh has entered 42 games this season favored by -110 or more and is 20-22 in those contests.The implied probability of a win from the Pirates, based on the moneyline, is 52.4%.So far this season, Pittsburgh and its opponents have hit the over in 60 of 146 games with a total.In 146 games with a spread this season, the Pirates are 79-67-0 ATS.Mitch Keller (Pirates probable starter)Keller gets the start for the Pirates, his 30th of the season. He is 6-14 with a 4.16 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 162 1/3 innings pitched.The right-hander’s most recent appearance came on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers, when he went 6 1/3 innings, surrendering two earned runs while allowing five hits.The 29-year-old has a 4.16 ERA and 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings across 29 games this season, while allowing a batting average of .252 to his opponents.Keller has collected 17 quality starts this season.Keller is looking for his fourth straight appearance lasting five or more innings. He averages 5.6 frames per appearance on the hill.He has had three appearances this season in which he held his opponents to zero earned runs.The opposing Nationals offense has a collective .245 batting average, and is 20th in the league with 1197 total hits and 22nd in MLB action with 626 runs scored. It has the 22nd-ranked slugging percentage (.390) and ranks 25th in home runs (140) in all of MLB.Head-to-head against the Nationals this season, Keller has pitched six innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits while striking out three.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 in MLB play this season.Pirates batting statsThe Pirates rank last in Major League Baseball with just 105 home runs as a team.Hitters for Pittsburgh have combined to rank 30th in MLB with a slugging percentage of only .349 this season.The Pirates have a team batting average of just .232 this season, which ranks 28th among MLB teams.Pittsburgh is among the lowest-scoring teams in the majors, ranking last with just 527 total runs (3.6 per game) this season.The Pirates have the 24th-ranked on-base percentage in MLB this season (.305).Pittsburgh ranks 23rd with an average of 8.8 strikeouts per game.Nationals stats and trendsNationals betting recordsThe Nationals have come away with 54 wins in the 127 contests they have been listed as the underdogs in this season.Washington has a win-loss record of 53-71 when favored by -109 or worse by sportsbooks this year.The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Nationals have a 52.2% chance of coming away with a victory in the contest.Washington and its opponents have hit the over in 73 of its 145 games with a total set by oddsmakers this season.The Nationals have posted a record of 72-73-0 against the spread this season.Brad Lord (Nationals probable starter)Lord (5-8 with a 4.20 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 109 1/3 innings pitched) gets the start for the Nationals, his 16th of the season.In his most recent time out on Saturday, the righty went 5 2/3 innings against the Chicago Cubs, giving up one earned run while surrendering 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 have a .254 batting average against him.Lord has three quality starts under his belt this year.Lord will look to secure his eighth matchup of five or more innings pitched this season. He averages 2.5 innings per appearance.In 21 of his appearances this season he did not give up an earned run.He will face a Pirates offense that ranks last in the league with 527 total runs scored while batting .232 as a unit. His opponent has a collective .349 slugging percentage (30th in MLB action) and has hit a total of 105 home runs (30th in the league).Lord has an 8.31 ERA and a 2.077 WHIP against the Pirates this season in 4 1/3 innings pitched, allowing a .429 batting average over one appearance.Nationals batting statsThe Nationals average one home run per game to rank 25th in MLB play with 140 total home runs.So far this season, Washington’s .390 slugging percentage is 22nd in the majors.The Nationals have the 17th-ranked batting average in the league (.245).Averaging 4.3 runs per game (626 total), Washington is the 22nd-highest scoring team in baseball.The Nationals are 22nd in the majors with an on-base percentage of .308.