Pittsburgh has a great team with the ability to get on base - and can score runs with the best of them. Pittsburgh also does not strike out very much - which is going to cause an awful lot of issues for Washington's pitcher all game long. Corey Dickerson has shown his impact for Pittsburgh - and Washington will struggle keeping his active bat down Washington doesn't bat good enough to make this an overly tough matchup for the Pirates. And, quite frankly. power swinger, Bryce Harper, is oftentimes, too short sighted and he has not always been producing at his best for the Nats, as his avg has been fluttering up and down drastically since mid-April. Washington have played below as what has been expected from their talent level - and the Pirates have played above theirs, tough game incoming. Pirates are 5-2 in Williams' last 7 starts while Jeremy Hellickson has struggled to get strikeouts this year. Pirates get this win on Thursday afternoon as a small underdog.