Nationals at Pirates 7/11/18 - MLB Picks & Predictions

PNC Park will play host to the series finale between the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday afternoon. Last night, SP Jeremy Hellickson struck out three batters over five scoreless innings to lead Washington to a 5-1 victory. Anthony Rendon’s two-run homer was all the offense needed by the Nationals, who trail Philadelphia by 5.5 games for the NL East Division lead.

Thirty-two year old southpaw Gio Gonzalez (6-5 3.76 ERA) is hoping to get things back on track after a few rough outings. Last time out, Gonzalez gave up eight hits and two runs over five innings of a 3-2 victory versus Miami. The Pittsburgh Pirates took Monday’s series opener by a 6-3 final score and had their two-game winning streak snapped last night. The Pirates did bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, but pinch-hitter Francisco Cervelli struck out with the bases loaded to end the game. Pittsburgh is seven games below .500 overall and 12.5 games off the pace in the NL Central Division race.

Pittsburgh skipper Clint Hurdle will turn to twenty-six year old righty Trevor Williams (6-7 4.60 ERA) on Wednesday. Williams has dropped three straight starts and has been tagged for 12 runs over his last 13 innings.