Nationals vs. Pirates Predictions, Picks, Odds & Starting Pitchers: Today, 4/14
Over the weekend, we saw both the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates on the road against divisional opponents. So, they’ll both be traveling to the Steel City after yesterday afternoon’s games to begin this series tonight. To get you prepared for first pitch, we’ve broken down our Nationals vs. Pirates predictions.
You’ll also want to check out how you can add the best fantasy contests to the best bet from our Nationals vs. Pirates predictions with a generous $1,000 Underdog promo code bonus!
Nationals vs. Pirates Predictions For MLB On MLB Network, 4/14
While the weather has finally been getting nicer for many parts of the country, it still wasn’t all sunshine on Sunday afternoon for the Nats and Pirates. Pittsburgh ended up getting swept by the rival Cincinnati Reds after getting blanked yesterday, dropping them further into the bottom of the NL Central.
The Nats at least had a back-and-forth battle with the Miami Marlins in what was a rubber match for their series. However, they collapsed in the seventh & eighth innings to lose their series as well. As you can see, it’s difficult to trust either team, but it’s still all about what Pittsburgh has going for them for this series opener - sending Paul Skenes to the mound.
The young ace is looking to bounce back after a loss last time out, but with Pittsburgh’s anemic offense, it’s still tough to automatically focus on Skenes for our best Nationals vs. Pirates predictions today.
Washington Nationals: Juggling The Infield
After the Washington Nationals started the year 1-6, everything looked par for the course in terms of their preseason expectations. However, they began to look quite competitive, but the recent injury to CJ Abrams is a big blow. Although it isn’t expected to be a long one, it’s a hip issue that has been lingering for the All-Star shortstop.
Due to the injury, the Nats have had to resort to shifting the infield around, and not for a lefty hitter. Paul DeJong, who had been playing third base, has shifted to short, which also brings in Amed Rosario to fill in that vacant spot at third. Both players are in their first season with Washington, making the infield juggling even more interesting.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Skenes Still Scorching
There has never been a shortage of discussions and hype when it comes to Paul Skenes since transitioning from LSU to the MLB, and rightfully so. He’ll be making his first career start against the Nats, which isn’t too surprising given that he’s still in his sophomore season. That said, there has been no sophomore slump for Skenes.
While a 1-1 record and 3.44 ERA may not jump off the page at you, he is still among the favorites to win the 2025 NL Cy Young award. We won’t get too far ahead of ourselves, but even coming off a loss, Skenes has been able to record 20 strikeouts across his first three starts while maintaining the third-fastest average fastball velocity in the MLB (97.9 MPH).
How To Watch Nationals vs. Pirates Today
This series opener is the very first game of the Monday MLB slate, and below, you can see how to watch Nationals vs. Pirates today:
- Where: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- When: 6:40 PM ET on 4/14
- Watch on TV: MLB Network, regional sports networks
- Where to stream: Fubo, MLB.TV
Nationals vs. Pirates Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines
One last thing before fully diving into our best bet - the latest Nationals vs. Pirates odds for tonight:
- Run Line: Washington Nationals +1.5 (-125) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates -1.5 (+100)
- Money Line: Washington Nationals (+170) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (-205)
- Game Total (Over/Under): Over 7 (-120) vs. Under 7 (+100)
Nationals vs. Pirates Best Bet: First 5 Innings Under 3.5 Runs (Add Fantasy Contests At Underdog)
Even though this isn’t a divisional rivalry, with it still being within the first month of the year, it still never hurts to look back at the most recent history between teams. For what it’s worth, the Pirates were 4-3 against the run line against the Nats last season.
Not only is that not a glaring trend, given that this is set to be Paul Skenes’ first start against Washington, it’s difficult to put much stock in those performances when it comes to Nationals vs. Pirates predictions for today. Unfortunately, just about every trend contradicts the other for today’s matchup.
Skenes gives the Pirates the best chance for a win, but seeing their lineup score just 50 runs the entire season thus far and getting shutout yesterday provides little confidence in the team overall. In the same breath, the Nats starting a rookie reliever, Brad Lord, that isn’t even listed on their depth chart provides no confidence there, either.
So, how about a first five innings pick on Pittsburgh to isolate when Skenes is in the game (he’s averaging over six innings per start this year)? Well, the offensive difference early in games makes that difficult as well. Instead of focusing on the home team early on, we’ll just root for fewer runs in the first half of the game.
Washington’s offense has not been bad early in games whatsoever, but they also haven’t faced the likes of Paul Skenes very often. On the flip side, having a reliever start for the Nats isn’t great news for a lengthy outing, but we know that he can still be strong to start. Even if he’s not exactly elite, Pittsburgh’s offense is far from that as well.
It’s not the most exciting way to have a rooting interest in a game, but we’re still taking under 3.5 runs in the first five innings (consider fantasy contests at Underdog as well) as the best bet from our Nationals vs. Pirates predictions.
Nationals vs. Pirates Injury Report & Starting Pitchers
As far as Nationals vs. Pirates injury news goes, the biggest concern for Washington is starting shortstop CJ Abrams, but his stint on the IL is expected to be just a short one (10-day). Similarly, Pittsburgh has a few starters on the 10-day and 15-day IL.
Those would be Nick Gonzales, Spencer Horwitz and reliever Colin Holderman. Thankfully for their sake, although young star Oneil Cruz missed Saturday’s game, he was back in action yesterday. To reiterate the Nationals vs. Pirates starters for today…
- Washington Nationals starting pitcher today: Brad Lord (0-0, 1.80 ERA)
- Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher today: Paul Skenes (1-1, 3.44 ERA)
How To Target Nationals vs. Pirates At Underdog & Claim Your $1,000 Bonus With Code ALARM
To help you add the aforementioned fantasy contests at Underdog to our Nationals vs. Pirates predictions, here’s how to do so with up to $1,000 in guaranteed bonus cash:
- Sign up here for a new Underdog account
- Enter our Underdog promo code ALARM
- Make a deposit of $10+ and up to $2,000
- Receive 50% of the value in bonus cash GUARANTEED
As you can see, that’s up to a $1,000 boost, and there are even free player picks for you to target at Underdog. Utilize the entire platform starting today by clicking here to unlock our exclusive Underdog promo code ALARM!
Player News
Teoscar Hernández went 4-for-5 with two doubles, four RBI, and two runs scored to lead the Dodgers to a 15-2 win over the Marlins on Tuesday.
Hernández continues to come through with runners on for the Dodgers as he drove in four on Tuesday on four hits, including two doubles. The 32-year-old slugger is up to an MLB-high 31 RBI while slashing .297/.313/.613 with nine homers and two steals across 116 plate appearances.
Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a solo homer, two runs scored, one steal, and a walk against the Marlins on Tuesday.
Ohtani sent the first pitch he saw out of the yard with a solo homer off Sandy Alcantara to lead off the first inning. He drew a walk in the second and stole a base before scoring on a double by Teoscar Hernández. The 30-year-old superstar is up to seven homers and eight steals while slashing .288/.392/.550 across 130 plate appearances.
Jack Dreyer allowed one run with three strikeouts over two innings as the opener against the Marlins on Tuesday.
Dreyer got the start as the opener with the Dodgers’ rotation thinned by injuries. He gave up a run in the first inning on a triple and a base hit, then struck out two batters in a clean second inning before he was relieved by Matt Sauer. Sauer went on to toss five innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts to put himself in line for the win.
Sandy Alcantara allowed seven runs with two strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings in a loss against the Dodgers on Tuesday.
Alcantara’s struggles to start the season continued on Tuesday against the Dodgers. Shothei Ohtani took his first pitch out for a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning. Los Angeles added two more runs on the board before Alcantara got out of the opening frame. They’d add four more runs before he was pulled with two outs in the third. The 29-year-old right-hander ends the day with an 8.31 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, and a 19/17 K/BB ratio across 26 innings.
Xander Bogaerts went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored in the Padres’ 7-4 win over the Giants on Tuesday.
Bogaerts put the Padres on the board early with a base hit in the first to score Manny Machado from second base before coming around to score on a hit by Jose Iglesias. Bogaerts later extended the lead with a two-run blast off Randy Rodríguez in the seventh for his first home run of the season. The 32-year-old shortstop is hitting .253/.342/.364 with 13 runs scored, eight RBI, and four steals over 114 plate appearances.
Willy Adames went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored against the Padres on Tuesday.
Adames led off the fourth inning with a solo homer off Nick Pivetta to put the Giants on the board. He later led off the sixth with a double and scored on a base hit by Jung Hoo Lee. It was one of Adames’ better days at the plate as he had just five total extra-base hits on the season before adding two on Tuesday. The 29-year-old shortstop is slashing .212/.286/.305 with two homers, 16 runs scored, and 15 RBI across 133 plate appearances.