Pirates face the Nationals leading series 2-1

Audio By Carbonatix

Washington Nationals (8-10, fourth in the NL East) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (11-7, second in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Thursday, 12:35 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Foster Griffin (2-0, 1.76 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 12 strikeouts); Pirates: Braxton Ashcraft (1-1, 2.12 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 20 strikeouts)

LINE: Pirates -163, Nationals +136; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates host the Washington Nationals with a 2-1 series lead.

Pittsburgh has gone 6-3 in home games and 11-7 overall. The Pirates have an 8-1 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents.

Washington has a 7-5 record on the road and an 8-10 record overall. The Nationals have the third-ranked team batting average in the NL at .263.

The teams play Thursday for the fourth time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Brandon Lowe leads the Pirates with seven home runs while slugging .633. Oneil Cruz is 13 for 40 with three doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs over the past 10 games.

C.J. Abrams leads the Nationals with six home runs while slugging .717. James Wood is 14 for 36 with three doubles, four home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 6-4, .254 batting average, 3.06 ERA, outscored opponents by 15 runs

Nationals: 5-5, .251 batting average, 5.76 ERA, outscored by nine runs

INJURIES: Pirates: Jared Triolo: 10-Day IL (knee), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Nationals: Ken Waldichuk: 15-Day IL (forearm), Cole Henry: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Trevor Williams: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.