First pitch: Thursday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Washington +155, Pittsburgh -165, Total: 7

The Pirates look to snap out of their recent funk with a home win over the Nationals in the first game of this series on Thursday.

The Nationals come into this series having taken two of the three games in their most recent series against the Mets. Washington has won five of its past eight and will be looking to jump all over a Pirates team that was just swept by Milwaukee and then lost two of their three games against Kansas City last series. These teams played in Washington in mid-June and the Nationals swept the Pirates. Pittsburgh, however, has won four of the past seven games in which it has hosted Washington over the past three seasons. On the mound in this matchup will be RHP Doug Fister (3-5, 4.30 ERA, 32 K) for the Nationals and LHP Francisco Liriano (5-6, 2.98 ERA, 125 K) for the Pirates. Favoring Washington is the fact that Pittsburgh is just 3-11 against the money line after three straight losses against the same opponent this season. The Nationals, however, are just 1-7 against the money line when Fister has taken the mound in nights game on the year. 3B Yunel Escobar (Wrist) is doubtful for Washington, which is already without CF Denard Span (Back), 2B Anthony Rendon (Quad), LF Jayson Werth (Wrist) and 1B Ryan Zimmerman (Foot). 3B Josh Harrison (Thumb) is out for Pittsburgh and C Francisco Cervelli (Wrist) is questionable for the team as well.

The Nationals are playing solid baseball as of late and will now hope that Doug Fister can turn his season around. Fister has allowed four or more runs in three of his past five starts and Washington has only come away with one win in his past six appearances. He has also struggled to go deep into games, pitching seven or more innings in just one of his past 10 starts. Fister will need to be a sturdy presence in this rotation moving forward, so this game will be very big for him if he can turn it around. RF Bryce Harper (.333, 27 HRs, 64 RBIs) is being relied upon much more with this team depleted by injuries and he has come through all season long. Harper was 2-for-4 against the Mets last game and should be feeling good coming into this matchup, as he is 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs against Liriano in his career. SS Ian Desmond (.213, 8 HRs, 26 RBIs) has been on a tear lately, going 5-for-9 in his past three games. He’ll need to get on base in this one if the team is going to have a chance. Another guy who could provide a spark is LF Michael Taylor (.234, 6 HRs, 35 RBIs), who drove in three RBIs in a win over the Mets on Wednesday. Washington can use another good performance from him in this one.

The Pirates are struggling as of late and they’ll turn to Francisco Liriano to get them back on the right track. Pittsburgh has won four straight games and seven of the past 10 in which he has taken the mound. He did, however, struggle against this team in a start on Jun. 20. He went just 5.2 innings in that game and allowed five earned runs on seven hits. He’ll need to be better this time around. CF Andrew McCutchen (.290, 12 HRs, 57 RBIs) must come through for his team in this one. He is just 3-for-13 over the past three games, but is 4-for-8 against Doug Fister in his career. LF Starling Marte (.289, 13 HRs, 50 RBIs) has been on a tear for Pittsburgh, going 8-for-13 over the past three games. He has not recorded an RBI in that span though and is a lousy 0-for-8 against Fister in his career. He’ll need to end his slump against the Washington starter in this one. One guy who could be an x-factor for the Pirates is 1B Pedro Alvarez (.231, 12 HRs, 43 RBIs). Alvarez is 4-for-7 against Fister in his career and could really help Pittsburgh if he is getting on-base in this game.