Pittsburgh Pirates vs Washington Nationals Prediction, 4/28/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Washington Nationals

Date: Friday, April 28, 2023

Location: Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

TV: MASN

The Pittsburgh Pirates (17-8) are hitting the road to Nationals Park on Friday where they will try to defeat the Washington Nationals (9-14). The men taking the mound will be Rich Hill and Chad Kuhl.

Pittsburgh has a slugging % of .435 and have struck out 198 times, while drawing a walk on 94 occasions. They have tallied 119 RBI's and 215 hits this season, while their average at the plate comes in at .257. The Pirates have tallied 51 doubles as a squad and have hit 28 baseballs out of the park. They have tallied 126 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .335. As a team, the Pittsburgh Pirates are putting up 5.0 runs/g, which puts them at 9th in baseball.

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Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 2.38 and the pitching staff sits with a WHIP of 1.32. Pirates pitchers have conceded 22 home runs and 95 runs in total (8th in the league). Pittsburgh has given up 203 base knocks (8.2 per 9 innings) in addition to 91 earned runs. The Pirates have an earned run average of 3.66 so far this season (8th in the league), and their staff has struck out 219 batters. Their pitching staff has walked 92 opposing batters and their FIP sits at 3.96 as a team so far this season.

The Pirates have sent 75 relief pitchers to the mound on the season. The relief pitchers have inherited 27 runners on the season with 22.2% of them crossed the plate. They have tallied 12 saves so far this season and have blown 3 of their 15 save opportunities. The Pirates relief pitchers have recorded a save percentage of 80.0% and has come into the game in 39 save situations. The relief pitchers have notched 23 holds on the campaign (4th in the league). Pirates bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on base 17 times as well as having 29 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have earned a total of 671 putouts this season, as well as 196 assists and 17 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .981 which has them ranked 27th in pro baseball, and they have twisted 18 double plays. The Pirates have turned 69.2% of baseballs in play into outs out of 2,013 innings on the field, ranking them 17th in baseball.

Hill (84-61 win-loss mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 4.03 while facing 5,391 batters during his time in the majors. He has surrendered 1,093 hits (7.7 hits per 9 innings) and has 491 walks. His earned run average is 3.87 (552 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.233. Hill has thrown 1,285 frames and has accumulated 1,316 strikeouts during his pro baseball career.

Washington is sitting with 12 long balls on the year to go along with 81 RBIs. They have hit 31 doubles, while getting a free base 74 times and scoring 85 runs. The Washington Nationals have recorded a team OBP of .320 and a team batting average of .249 this year. The Nationals have a team slugging percentage of .342 and they average 3.70 runs per outing (26th in the league). They have been rung up on 163 occasions (30th in MLB) and have tallied 195 base hits.

The Nationals have a WHIP of 1.312 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.56 as a pitching staff over the course of the season. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 7.80 (175 strikeouts against 80 free passes). They have a ranking of 7th in baseball as a staff in total hits surrendered with 185. They have relinquished 26 home runs and they concede 4.32 runs per 9 innings (12th in the league). The Washington pitching staff have yielded 97 runs on the year and come in with a team ERA of 3.92 (88 earned runs allowed).

With 23 save situations, the Nationals have accrued 13 holds and also 3 blown saves. Washington has called on bullpen pitchers to take the mound in 10 save chances and they have tallied 7 saves. Their relievers have stepped onto the hill 20 times in high leverage situations and on 20 occasions with runners on base. Washington relievers have an inherited score rate of 26.5% out of 34 inherited base runners. They are currently ranked 11th in the league holding a save percentage of 70.0%, and they have dispatched 70 relief pitchers to the mound so far this season.

The Washington Nationals have gotten 26 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .981 (25th in baseball). The Nationals have recorded 227 assists, 16 errors and have a total of 606 putouts so far this season. Out of their 1,818 innings played, the Nationals hold a defensive efficiency of 70.0% (11th in the majors).

Kuhl (31-42 career win-loss record) has a 4.83 ERA while giving up 9.1 hits per nine innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.96 and he has gone up against 2,602 batters so far in his pro baseball career. He has surrendered 319 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.461 and a FIP of 4.8. During his MLB career, Kuhl has surrendered 604 base knocks while totaling 519 punch outs in 595 innings pitched.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Washington

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