Tonight the baseball world will all turn their attention to Washington DC for what is the most hyped up debut in a long time.

Last year’s number one draft pick and pitching sensation Stephen Strasburg will take to the mound at the Nationals ballpark to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington are hoping that this will signal the beginning of a golden era.

It’s not common that the Washington Nationals get top TV billing on a night that sees the NBA Playoffs go into a third games but tonight the entire North American sporting world will be tuning in to see just how good this kid is.

Strasburg wowed the Nationals during Spring Training but the decision was taken to send him down and allow him to fine tune his game at the lower levels. Strasburg went 7-2 with a 1.30 ERA in eleven starts in the Minor Leagues and got to the point where people began to wonder what exactly was he learning at that level. The Nationals always had a plan for their star player and that plan will now see Strasburg make his full debut against the Pirates.

In triple A Strasburg gave up four earned runs and seven walks in thirty-three innings so it will be extremely interesting to see if he can continue that dominance against well seasoned players. Moving away from the pitching the Nationals are not playing well at the moment. They are 3-7 in their last ten games and have fallen six games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and the main problem seems to be their bullpen and closer Matt Capps specifically. Capps has blown three of his last four saves although two of those blown saves where due to errors by the defence as well as Capps himself. From a hitting point of view the Nationals are also struggling with an OPS of .663 in the last seven days, managing only twenty-one runs in six games. They will be hoping to return to the good hitting form they had earlier this season and tonight would be the ideal night to do it.

While all the cameras will be pointed at Strasburg there is another team involved in the festivities tonight. The Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled again this season but they will surely be looking forward to having a go at the premier pitching prospect in the game. The player who will be looking to out-duel Strasburg is Jeff Karstens who doesn’t have a good record against the Nationals in his career (0-0 with a 9.35 ERA). Karstens is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA so far this season but did have a good outing last time out against the Cubs. Karstens pitched six solid innings allowing just two earned runs and only walking three but as is common for Pittsburgh pitchers the Pirates were not able to provide any support and the pitcher ended the day with a no-decision. Karstens has had some quality starts this season but may not need his best stuff against a struggling Washington offense.

Looking at the Pirates offense the story for them doesn’t seem to change; they are 29th out of 30 teams in runs scored, a figure which has not been improving over the last week or so. The last thing a struggling offense needs is to face a pitcher with the electric stuff that Strasburg has but that is indeed the task facing the Pirates. They will be hoping that Strasburg will not be able to translate his form to the big leagues.

For a betting point of view the Nationals are 4/9 at Bluesq to secure the win tonight while the Pirates are 13/8. The odds on the Nationals correctly reflect Strasburg presence on the mound but with Washington struggling to hit and with their bullpen it’s quite possible to see the Pirates take the win once Strasburg has been taken from the game. The total runs market is set at 8 ½ runs which may be a little high given the scoring troubles of both teams and the fact that you’d expect a lights out performance from Strasburg.