Archer gets the start for Pirates against Nationals

Published

Pittsburgh Pirates (7-5, third in the NL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (6-6, fourth in the NL East)

Washington; Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Chris Archer (1-0, 2.46 ERA) Nationals: Anibal Sanchez (0-1, 6.52 ERA)

LINE: Nationals favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Washington hosts Pittsburgh in game two of a three-game series.

The Nationals finished 41-40 in home games in 2018. Washington pitchers struck out 8.7 hitters per game last year with a staff ERA of 4.04.

The Pirates went 38-43 away from home in 2018. Pittsburgh averaged 8.5 hits with 3.0 extra base hits per game last year. The Nationals won the season series 5-2 in 2018.