T.M. Selection: Pittsburgh Pirates +1.5.

I like the Pittsburgh Pirates runline in this game against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday. The Pirates have lost 5 games in a row now but they haven't looked that bad lately with all of those losses coming in close games. They lost 3/5 games in this slump by just 1 run and the other 2 losses were both by 2 runs. I think they have been putting in a good effort in all of those games and their pitching hasn't been bad either. They have already lost 2 games of this series to the Nats and I don't expect them to lose here and get swept by a team that they are better than. Mitch Keller (2-5, 4.77 ERA) is up for the Pirates here and he has looked pretty good in his previous starts. He has given up 2 runs or less in 6/7 of his previous 7 starts and has been really reliable for this team with his pitching. He gave up 3 runs in his most recent start but I expect him to bounce back with an even better performance here against the Nats who haven't really been producing a ton of offense this year. The Nats have Paolo Espino (0-1, 2.21 ERA) up on the bump in this game and he has been great all year for the Nats, but has also made a majority of his appearances in games as a reliever. He has started in his 3 most recent appearances and hasn't been bad but he has been getting worn down in those starts, pitching some of his longest stretches in games all year, and I expect him to get hit by a Pirates team that hasn't looked bad in their games lately. Even if the Pirates don't win here, I expect them to keep the game close at least. I like the Pirates runline here.

T.M. Prediction: 4-3 Pirates.