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MLB Betting – Scherzer, Nats Look to Limit Pirates Again

Zack Garrison

by Zack Garrison in News

Updated Jan 17, 2018 · 9:39 AM PST

Max Scherzer throwing a pitch
Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Nationals tonight as they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Photo by Keith Allison (Flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/]

Washington Nationals (-124, 6.5 o/u) at Pittsburgh Pirates (+114)

The last time Max Scherzer (10-8, 2.09 ERA) took the mound against the Pittsburgh Pirates (55-40, 33-16 Home), he threw a no-hitter and just missed a perfect game. Tonight, the dominant righty and his Washington Nationals (51-43, 23-24 Away) will travel to Steeltown to face the Pirates at PNC Park in the second of a four-game series (7:10 PM Eastern).

Pittsburgh took game one of the series last night, with a 7-3 win that saw Francisco Liriano dominate the Nationals’ lineup, allowing only three hits in six innings.

“I can’t remember a game through four innings where the only people that played were the pitcher, the catcher and the first baseman,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said to the Associated Press after his team’s victory. “I haven’t seen that before.”

The win was big for a Pittsburgh team that has been struggling since the All-Star Break, losing four of five before last night’s W.

Despite the skid, the Pirates are still 15 games above .500 and second in the NL Central, six games below the St. Louis Cardinals, who also own the best record in the majors.

Tonight, the Pirates will give lefty Jeff Locke (5-6, 4.01 ERA) the unenviable task of facing Scherzer. Locke has been one of the weaker points in a very strong Pittsburgh rotation this year. He had a quality start last time out, though, going 7.1 innings and allowing three runs against the Brewers – though he was still tagged with the loss as the offense could only give him one run of support.

Like the Pirates, the Nationals haven’t been at their best since the All-Star Break either, dropping four of seven. The team remains three games up on the Mets for top spot in the NL East.

Scherzer is personally coming off a 5-0 loss to the Dodgers where he went six innings, allowing seven hits, but just one earned run. Unfortunately for the 2013 AL Cy Young winner, he ran into LA’s Zack Greinke – who now hasn’t allowed a run in 43.2 innings – at the wrong time.

The Nationals swept Pittsburgh at home in the first half of the season, pounding the Pirates pitching staff to the tune of 6.3 runs per game; though Pittsburgh has one of the best home records in the bigs, tonight’s pitching matchup weighs heavily towards the Nats. Expect the NL East leaders to stretch their cushion with a W.

Pick: Nationals (-124). 

(Photo credit: Keith Allison (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)

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