The Pirates get a visit from the Washington Nationals in baseball action on Saturday, with the home side looking to send the visitors to the showers with a loss.

Livan Hernandez, with a record of 2-1 on the season, gets the ball for the Nationals, while the Pirates trot Jeff Karstens to the mound in this one. He is 0-0 so far in 2011.



View Washington vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Bettors looking to side with the Pirates in this one will find them as -140 favorites on the MLB money line. Betting the over under instead? It was hovering near 8 at its open earlier today.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Pittsburgh's No. 14-rated National League offense, averaging 3.5 runs per game, against a Nationals defense that ranks No. 9 in the National League at 4.3 in runs allowed per game. The Pirates have averaged 7.8 hits per game so far, more than Nationals batters have averaged on the year (7.1 hits per game).

Comparing defensive stats, Washington owns the National League's No. 11-rated road mark, allowing 4.7 runs per game on the highway. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, rates No. 15 in scoring at home.

A few Nationals at Pirates trends to consider:
Washington7-1-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Pittsburgh
Washington4-1-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Washington is 5-10-1 SU in its last 16 games ,on the road
Pittsburgh is 1-3-1 SU in its last 5 games ,
Pittsburgh is 1-4-1 SU in its last 6 games ,when playing at home against Washington
Pittsburgh is 1-7-1 SU in its last 9 games ,when playing Washington
Pittsburgh is 0-4-1 SU in its last 5 games ,at home


Next up:
Washington at Pittsburgh, Sunday, April 24