The Washington Nationals (8-9) take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (10-7) for the third of a four-game series. Pittsburgh won Monday’s matchup, 16-5, but Washington took Tuesday’s, 5-4 in a thriller.
Since the Pirates’ five-game winning streak, the Buccos have gone 4-4 over the next eight games. Pittsburgh has gone 5-3 at home so far and the offense has been cooking at PNC Park. The Pirates have the second-best batting average at home (.278) and are tied 11th for the most RBI (44).
Washington is 4-1 over the last five games for its best five-game stretch of the season so far. The Nationals have outscored its opponents 34-30 in that span with the Pirates scoring 16 in one game. Washington is 7-4 on the road this season despite the pitching staff having a 5.06 ERA (25th) and the offense boasting the second-highest batting average (.283).
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Nationals at Pirates
- Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2026
- Time: 6:40 PM EST
- Site: PNC Park
- City: Pittsburgh, PA
- Network/Streaming: MLB TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Nationals at the Pirates
The latest odds as of Wednesday:
- Moneyline: Washington Nationals (+149), Pittsburgh Pirates (-181)
- Spread: Nationals +1.5 (-136), Pirates -1.5 (+113)
- Total: 9.5
Probable starting pitchers for Nationals at Pirates
- Wednesday’s pitching matchup (April 15): Jake Irvin vs. Mason Montgomery
- Nationals: Jake Irvin
2026 stats: 14.0 IP, 1-1, 7.07 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 16 Ks, 8 BB
- Pirates: Mason Montgomery
2026 Stats: 7.1 IP, 1-0, 6.14 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, 16 Ks, 5 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not!
- The Nationals’ CJ Abrams is hitting .356 with 21 hits, 41 total bases, and six home runs over 59 at-bats
- The Nationals’ Nasim Nunez is hitting .192 with 10 hits and 12 strikeouts over 52 at-bats
- The Pirates’ Oneil Cruz is hitting .328 with 22 hits, 40 total bases, and seven stolen bases over 67 at-bats
- The Pirates’ Marcell Ozuna is hitting .106 with five hits, 12 strikeouts, and five walks over 47 at-bats
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Nationals at Pirates
- The Nationals 11-6 ATS this season
- The Pirates are 11-6 ATS this season
- The Nationals are 12-5 to the Over this season
- The Pirates are 10-7 to the Over this season
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Nationals and the Pirates
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Wednesday’s game between the Nationals and the Pirates.
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Pirates on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Pirates at -1.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Over on the Game Total of 9.5
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