Where: PNC Park

When: 7:05 EST

The Starters: Detwiler (3-1, 1.59) vs. Bedard (2-4, 2.65)

The Line: Nats -120, Bucs 100, O/U 7 Runs, Nats -1.5

Starters – Wednesday night’s game two of the 3 game set between the Nationals and Pirates will feature a pair of tough lefties. For the Nationals the starter will be young Ross Detwiler, who has looked great so far this season. Through 5 starts in 2012 Detwiler has only given up 5 earned runs, amounting to a 1.59 era that is good for 5th best in the major leagues. Ross has proven to be very difficult to hit, giving up just 19 hits in his 28.1 innings, which coupled with decent command (9 BB) has produced a very impressive .99 WHIP. The only flaw in Detwiler’s game so far this year is that he hasn’t been able to go very deep into games (never going over 6.1 IP) but he did have his longest outing of the season last start so maybe he’s starting to stretch his arm out. The Pirates will answer Detwiler with a very similar pitcher in Erik Bedard. The former Oriole is much like Detwiler in that he is a lefty, he’s effective, and he taxes his team’s bullpen at times. In Bedard’s 6 starts so far this year he has gone 7 innings twice, but only 5 innings in each of the other 4. This is probably due to his high strike out and walk totals causing him to throw a lot of pitches, but some would suggest it’s due to his lack of heart. No one has ever questioned Bedard’s skills, he’s one of the best lefties in the game when he’s healthy, but many have questioned his desire and willingness to play through some discomfort. He has never reached 200 innings pitched in any of his 9 pro seasons and has only made 30 starts once (33 in 2006). Whether it’s injury, desire or both that’s keeping him off the mound it’s certainly a shame because when he’s right he’s a lot of fun to watch. Advantage Nationals (barely)

Lineups – If your the type of fan that loves to see home runs and high scoring games, this isn’t the series for you because both of these lineups are anemic. The Nats rank 12th in the NL or worse in virtually every offensive statistic including; AVG (.238, 12th), R (96, 15th), HR (18, T-13th), SB (11, T-15th), SLG (.353, 14th), and OPS (.665, 13th). That’s pretty awful across the board but as I say every series, they do make opposing pitchers work by fouling off good pitches and taking bad ones, which has led to an acceptable OBP of .312 (8th in NL). As poor as the Nat’s production has been at the plate, it’s hard to argue that the Pirates’ production hasn’t been even worse. I could run down all the stats like I did for the Nats, which are just as pathetic for the Bucs (13th or worse in NL in the 6 categories I sited for the Nats) but the only stat you really need to know regarding the Pirates is that they rank dead last in the MLB in runs with 78, a whopping 17 less than any other team in baseball (Twins next lowest at 95). Three teams in the league have scored more than twice as many runs as Pittsburgh (Braves 163, Cardinals 161, Rangers 160) and one of them happens to be in their division. So to sum things up, the Washington lineup is no murderer’s row but they will get a boost with Ryan Zimmerman returning tonight and the Bucs are the worst lineup in the baseball. Advantage Nationals (Stats accurate as of start of series)

Bullpens - The bullpen is an area of strength for both of these teams. The National’s pen doesn’t quite have the lowest era in the league at 3.47 (11th in MLB), but they keep the ball in the ballpark allowing just 3 homers (Tied lowest in MLB) and usually find a way to get the curly W with 8 wins (Tied most in MLB with O’s!). Not to mention their stats have been somewhat tainted by recent call up Ryan Perry’s 23.62 era (7 ER in 2.2 IP), no other Nats pitcher has an era over 5.54 (Gorzelanny). The Pirates relievers have combined for a 2.76 era which is good for 6th in the majors. They also carry a 5-3 record, but beyond that none of their stats are overwhelmingly impressive, mostly near the middle of the league. They don’t have any real stars out there but they don’t have any real bums either, they’re solid all the way through. The numbers may not totally back me up right now, but I’d trust the Nationals late inning guys (Rodriguez, Burnett, Stammen) more than I’d trust their Pirates counterparts (Cruz, Hanrahan, Lincoln). Advantage Nationals (barely) (Stats accurate as of start of series)

Game Summary – The National’s bounce back from last night’s heart breaker behind another steller start from Detwiler and Bryce Harper’s first major league homer.

Prediction: Nationals 3, Pirates 2

Key Players (Stat Prediction): Detwiler (6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 5 K, 1 BB), Harper (2-3, HR), Bedard (6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 7 K, 3 BB), McCutchen (2-4, 2B, RBI, SB)

Jesse’s Picks W/L: 17 – 12

Jesse’s Picks ATS: 15 – 13