Nationals at Pirates
The Washington Nationals have been producing runs at a ridiculous pace of late and hope to continue the trend when they visit the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday for the opener of a four-game series. Washington has scored 66 times while winning six of its last seven contests, with 49 of those runs coming in its last four games.
The Nationals, who lead the National League wild-card race, dropped a 15-14 decision to Milwaukee in 14 innings on Saturday before bouncing back to record a 16-8 victory in the rubber match of the three-game set. Brian Dozier and Juan Soto both went deep twice on Sunday as Washington belted eight homers, tying the club record set on July 27, 2017 - also versus the Brewers. Anthony Rendon has gone 8-for-24 with two blasts and seven RBIs during his five-game hitting streak for the Nationals, who are 5 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East. Starling Marte has recorded a trio of three-hit performances during his six-game hitting streak, including one on Sunday that featured a leadoff homer in the ninth inning of a 7-1 setback as Pittsburgh avoided being shut out for a second straight game.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, MASN (Washington), AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Joe Ross (3-3, 5.91 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Trevor Williams (5-5, 5.25)
After a stretch during which he lost three straight games and spent a month in the minors, Ross has won all three of his outings this month, allowing one run and nine hits over 18 innings. The 26-year-old Californian gave up that run against Cincinnati on Tuesday, when he scattered five hits over 6 2/3 frames. Ross, who has worked 11 1/3 scoreless innings over his last two turns on the road, is 1-1 with a 2.81 ERA in three career starts versus Pittsburgh.
Williams came away with a victory on the road against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday despite yielding five runs on seven hits and a season-high five walks across five innings. The 27-year-old, who also hails from the Golden State, has issued nine free passes while registering only five strikeouts over 16 frames in three turns this month. Williams is 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA in four career games (three starts) against the Nationals, including a no-decision at Washington on April 12 in which he permitted two runs and four hits over 6 1/3 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Nationals SS Trea Turner has reached safely in a career-high 25 straight games after going 2-for-5 on Sunday.
2. Pittsburgh recalled RHP Montana DuRapau, who worked a scoreless inning versus the Cubs on Sunday, from Triple-A Indianapolis while INF Cole Tucker was optioned to the Indians but remained with the club for the series finale as the 26th man and was hit by a pitch as a pinch-hitter.
3. Washington placed LHP Sean Doolittle (knee) on the 10-day injured list and recalled RHP Kyle McGowin, who yielded four runs over two innings of relief on Sunday, from Double-A Harrisburg.