Two teams heading into the off-season with tons of question marks clash as the Washington Nationals and the Pittsburgh Pirates close out their three-game set with the finale of the series Thursday afternoon inside PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They toss out the first pitch at 12:35 pm. The Pirates got the better of Washington, 7-6, on Wednesday night. The Pirates are -158 in Thursday's clash. 

The Nationals (65-81) have had a goofy season where they have shown they can win some games but then their inconsistent play rears its ugly head and they fall back into losing streaks. However, they do believe they have some building blocks and on Tuesday they agreed to a multiyear contract extension with President of Baseball Operations and GM Mike Rizzo, which was announced by the team. They have dropped two straight and three of four overall. 

On offense, the Nationals are led by right fielder Lane Thomas, who has cracked 24 home runs this season to go along with 78 runs batted in. He is hitting .277 on the season and his teammate and shortstop CJ Abrams who has clubbed 18 home runs to go along with 57 runs batted in. 

Washington will toss out Josiah Gray who heads to the mound with a mark of 7-11 to go along with an ERA of 4.13. He has not won since late July and has lost his last three out of five starts. 

The Pirates (68-78) have had an interesting season, as they started off like gangbusters the first month or so of the season. However, they have quickly faded and are in the midst of another rough season in which they will not be making the playoffs. They have won two in a row, though, after losing two in a row. 

They do not have a very potent offense and they have had some issues dealing with pushing runs across and manufacturing runs. They do not have a potent offense and they really need to scratch and claw their way to some wins here and there. 

They are led by left fielder Bryan Reynolds who has cracked 21 home runs to go along with 74 runs batted in. He is hitting 272 on the season. They have hit a total of 141 home runs on the season and they hit just .237 on the season.

They will send out 27-year-old Mitch Keller who sports a record of 11-9 to go along with an ERA of 4.23. He has had some nice moments this season and really needs to rebound from his last start, which saw him give up eight runs -- all earned -- on 12 hits in just five innings of work in an 8-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. 

The Pirates are 2-3 in their last five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the spread. The Pirates are 37-35 in their road games against the number and the totals have gone over in two of their last five games and 43 of their last 73 games at home. The Nationals are 2-3 in their last five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the spread. The Nationals are 45-26 in their road games against the spread. The totals have gone over in two of their last five games and 37 out of their last 73 games at home.