Pittsburg looking to stay hot
The Pirates just swept the marlins in four games, scoring 6 or more runs in each of them. Marco Gonzales will be making his first start for the Pirates against the Nationals on Monday. Having been traded from the Mariners and the Braves during the off season, he’ll be going out there looking to prove something. He went 4-1 with 10 starts and a 5.22 era last season. With a career record of 65-49 and an ERA of 4.14 in 155 starts. This isn’t someone that’s going to wow you. But he’s been around, and he knows how to pitch. With the way the Pirates are scoring right now, he should go into this game feeling pretty comfortable.
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The Nationals are 1-2 after Sunday’s game where they gave up 3 runs in the 9th inning to get walked off by the Reds. They’ve scored 7 and 5 runs in their last two games which is a good sign for them. Not only are they hitting, but they’ll have MacKenzie Gore on the mound who is a very similar pitcher to Gonzalez. Going 7-10 with a 4.42 ERA in 40 starts last season isn’t too bad. Again, not someone who’s going to wow you necessarily, but someone who knows how to pitch. With the Pirates scoring the way they are, the Nationals are expecting him to slow them down here and pick up a well needed win. This should be a good first challenge for Gore.
Prediction
The main thing I’m looking at here is the last 2 games the Nationals have played. This team has played in two back-to-back games (against the Reds) that were both won and lost, scoring and giving up 3 runs in the 9th inning in both games. The key factor in this is the last game was the game they lost. Playing two games filled with that much emotion and energy is draining. Let alone giving up 3 runs in the 9th inning to get walked off and then having to travel to play the next day. No one’s going to be up for that. They have MacKenzie Gore on the mound, but like I said he’s a very similar pitcher to Gonzalez and I don’t see a pitching advantage in this game. I give the edge to the Pirates on Monday.
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