Pittsburgh Pirates at Washington Nationals

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
PIT	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	7	11	0
WSH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0

Braxton Ashcraft (8-3, 3.24 ERA) has quietly turned into one of the better arms in the NL Central, and he drew a Nationals lineup that had to counter with Carson Palmquist, who came in with an 8.44 ERA and just 3.1 innings in his last outing. On paper that's a mismatch, and the Pirates treated it like one.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Pirates(44-45)

LWLLW

7

-1.5+108-144o9.5-127

Nationals(46-43)

WWWLW

1

+1.5-108+141u9.5+125

Best BetNationals +134

Postgame

Missed — Ashcraft dominated and Palmquist got roughed up, exactly the bear case playing out.

Pregame

We backed the Nationals at plus money off their recent form — Crews heating up, four wins in five, and a home crowd on the Fourth. Ashcraft was always the swing factor here, and this was the version of him that makes that price look bad in hindsight.

Washington's been getting by lately on a lineup that's finally clicking — Dylan Crews has heated up in a big way over the past couple weeks — but Saturday's group was without Jacob Young, scratched with left hand soreness, and the rotation depth chart behind Palmquist is still a mess with Jake Irvin, DJ Herz and Josiah Gray all on extended IL stints. That's a lot of pressure on a starter who hasn't looked right since coming back.

Braxton Ashcraft

(9-3)·3.49 ERA

Jun 29 @ Phillies

W

6.0IP

5ER

8K

1BB

97P

07/04 Lineup

Carson Palmquist

(0-1)·5.79 ERA

Jun 24 vs Phillies

ND

3.1IP

1ER

3K

1BB

58P

07/04 Lineup

The Pirates, meanwhile, are dealing with their own bullpen headache — Evan Sisk landed on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation the same day this one was played — but that didn't matter against a Nationals offense that couldn't touch Ashcraft. Pittsburgh jumped on Palmquist early and coasted from there.

The Pirates put up 4 runs in the 2nd inning and never looked back, tacking on 2 more in the 8th to close it out 7-1. They out-hit Washington 11-6 and neither team committed an error — this one just wasn't competitive after the second.

It's the kind of result that should sting more for Washington given how the week had been going — 4 wins in their last 5 coming in, including a series win over Pittsburgh just a night earlier. One flat start from Palmquist erased all that momentum in a hurry.

Pittsburgh Pirates

(44-45)

Jul 3L@ Nationals5-9

Jul 2W@ Phillies6-1

Jul 1L@ Phillies6-10

Jun 30L@ Phillies0-8

Jun 29W@ Phillies11-7

Washington Nationals

(46-43)

Jul 3Wvs Pirates9-5

Jul 1W@ Red Sox10-2

Jun 30W@ Red Sox8-1

Jun 29L@ Red Sox3-6

Jun 28W@ Orioles6-4

For the Pirates, it's a reminder of what Ashcraft's presence means to a rotation that's otherwise been shaky — Jared Jones is day-to-day, and with Cherington reportedly looking to add bullpen help before the deadline, days like this are exactly why Pittsburgh still believes it's in the wild card mix.

Pittsburgh Pirates

(6)

• Day-To-DayJared Jones (SP) — no07/04
• 10-Day-ILSpencer Horwitz (1B) — Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Horwitz (hamstring) will remain sidelined for "weeks, not days," and the first baseman isn't expected to return from the 10-day injured list until after the All-Star break, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.06/28
• 10-Day-ILOneil Cruz (CF) — Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that he expects Cruz (hand) to return from the 10-day injured list at some point in July, most likely after the All-Star break, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.06/28
• 15-Day-ILEvan Sisk (RP) — Sisk was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with left elbow inflammation, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/04
• 15-Day-ILWilber Dotel (RP) — Dotel (lat) will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Altoona on Saturday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.06/27
• 60-Day-ILChris Devenski (RP) — Devenski (illness) was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL on Sunday.06/07

Washington Nationals

(9)

• Day-To-DayJacob Young (CF) — Young has been removed from Saturday's lineup against the Pirates due to left hand soreness.07/04
• 15-Day-ILRichard Lovelady (RP) — The Nationals placed Lovelady on the 15-day injured list Monday with a left triceps strain.06/29
• 15-Day-ILJake Irvin (SP) — Irvin (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Tuesday, Kyle Williams of TheBanner.com reports.06/22
• 60-Day-ILMitchell Parker (RP) — The Nationals transferred Parker (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Wednesday.07/02
• 60-Day-ILTrevor Williams (SP) — Williams (elbow) struck out a batter and allowed four runs (two earned) on four hits and no walks while recording two outs in a rehab start Sunday with Single-A Fredericksburg.06/29
• 60-Day-ILDJ Herz (SP) — Herz (elbow) was diagnosed Monday with a left flexor strain, Kyle Williams of TheBanner.com reports.06/22
• 60-Day-ILMax Kranick (RP) — Kranick (elbow) began a rehab assignment with Single-A Fredericksburg on Sunday, striking out two over 1.2 perfect innings.06/22
• 60-Day-ILKen Waldichuk (RP) — Waldichuk (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure April 21 and is hopeful to return to game action at some point early in the 2027 season, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.06/11
• 60-Day-ILJosiah Gray (SP) — Gray (elbow) has resumed a throwing program, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.05/08