Pirates at Nationals
The Washington Nationals and the Pittsburgh Pirates were both popular picks to reach the postseason in the National League, but only one enters the second half looking like a solid bet to achieve that goal. The Pirates will attempt to continue the course correction that began before the break when they start the second half by visiting the Nationals on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.
The Pirates were languishing five games under .500 after a loss to San Francisco on June 23 but closed the first half on a tear with wins in 12 of the last 16 games. Pittsburgh’s schedule out of the All-Star break features 18 of the first 23 games against teams with losing records, and the Pirates sit only 1 1/2 games out of a wild card spot in the NL. Washington is in a better spot with a six-game lead in the NL East and improved its position with three straight wins over the second-place New York Mets to close out the first half. The Nationals won 11 of their final 15 before the break and All-Star second baseman Daniel Murphy clubbed three homers while recording 10 RBIs in four games against the Mets last weekend.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), MASN (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates LH Francisco Liriano (5-8, 5.15 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Stephen Strasburg (12-0, 2.62)
Liriano recovered from a terrible stretch with two solid starts to begin July, allowing a total of four earned runs in 10 innings against Oakland and the Chicago Cubs. The Dominican Republic native struggles with his control at times and has issued 58 walks in 92 2/3 innings this season. Liriano started twice against Washington last season and struck out 17 in 11 2/3 innings but was reached for six runs on 10 hits and four walks.
Strasburg would have been among the candidates to start the All-Star Game for the NL had he not elected to skip the contest and rest after dealing with some nagging injuries in the first half. The former top pick looked plenty healthy in his last start before the break, when he held the Mets to one run and two hits while striking out nine in seven innings to earn the win. Strasburg is seeing Pittsburgh for the first time since 2014 and is 2-2 with a 2.83 ERA in five career starts against the Pirates.
WALK-OFFS
1. Nationals All-Star C Wilson Ramos is 4-for-22 without an extra-base hit in his last six games.
2. Pittsburgh CF Andrew McCutchen went 6-for-12 with two home runs and six RBIs in the final three games before the break.
3. Washington closer and RHP Jonathan Papelbon surrendered one hit and no walks while striking out eight over four total innings in his last four appearances.