The Washington Nationals (19-19) travel to face off against the Boston Red Sox (20-19) on Sunday, May 12th. This game will be played at Fenway Park in Boston and televised on MASN. The Red Sox are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Nationals are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Red Sox. First pitch is set for 1:35 ET.
Nationals vs Red Sox
Boston picked up a 4-2 win over the Nationals in the most recent game of this series. The Red Sox had a late rally, scoring two runs in the 8th and another two in the 9th. As for the Nationals, they scored their only two runs in the 5th. Heading into the game, the Red Sox were favored at -157 on the money line.
Cooper Criswell got the start for the Red Sox, going five innings while giving up two runs and striking out nine. Chris Martin came out of the bullpen for the win, and Kenley Jansen got the save. Jake Irvin put together a good outing for the Nationals, going seven innings and giving up two earned runs.
Eddie Rosario and Joey Meneses each homered for the Nationals, while Wilyer Abreu went deep for the Red Sox. Rafael Devers had a two-hit game and drove in two runs for Boston’s offense.
Washington is at .500 overall with a record of 19-19, and they are eight games behind the Phillies in the NL East. The Nationals are 5-2 in divisional games this year. This season, they are 7-10 at home compared to 12-9 on the road.
The Nationals have an overall series record of 5-6-1 this year, and they are 17-18 as the underdog this year. Washington has gone 2-1 when favored. As for their current series vs. the Red Sox, they are tied 1-1 heading into today’s game.
The Nationals have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 24-14 overall. They have been especially strong on the road, where they are 15-6 vs. the run line. They have been a better bet as the underdog, going 22-13 vs. the run line. They have been outscored by an average of 0.2 runs per game this season.
Washington’s over/under record for the season is 17-20, and the average over/under line in their games is 9 runs. When the line is set at 8 runs, their over/under record is 2-3-1. So far this season, 68.4% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 8 runs, and 15.8% have had lower lines. Their last two games have gone under the total. The over/under line for today’s game is 8 runs, and the combined run average in their games this season is 8.5 runs.
MacKenzie Gore Gets The Start For The Nationals
MacKenzie Gore is hoping to bounce back from his last outing, where he gave up two earned runs in three innings of work. Against the Blue Jays on May 5th, he gave up a homer. Gore finished with a no-decision in the outing. Looking back over his last three starts, the left-hander has given up at least one homer in each outing. Gore’s record for the season is 2-3, and his ERA is 3.44. Opponents are batting .281 off Gore this season. He has made one quality start this year and is averaging 11.12 strikeouts per nine innings.
Nationals Offense Breakdown
So far this season, the Nationals offense is averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 19th in the league. They have been a bit better on the road (4.3 RPG) than at home (4.0 RPG). As a team, they are batting just .229, which is 14th in the league, and their slugging percentage of .363 is 23rd in the league.
CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. are both near the top of the league in RBIs, with 20 apiece. Abrams is also 6th in the league with seven home runs. Garcia Jr. comes into the game on a good stretch, hitting .345 over his last eight games. Eddie Rosario has also been hot of late, going 9/22 in his last eight games with three homers.
The Red Sox are 20-19 overall and trail the Orioles by 6.5 games in the AL East. So far, they have yet to win a game vs. another AL East team, going 0-3. Boston is 8-10 at home this year and 12-9 on the road. Currently, they have lost two straight series.
As the favorite, the Red Sox are 10-6 this year and 5-6 when favored at home. Boston is 10-13 as the underdog this year. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games overall and will be at home today vs. the Nationals.
When it comes to the run line, the Red Sox have been a better bet on the road this season, going 13-8 compared to 7-11 at Fenway Park. They have been a better bet as the underdog, going 14-9, compared to 6-10 as the favorite. Their average run margin in winning games is +4.7, compared to -3.3 in losing games.
The Red Sox have played to the under in four straight games and have gone under in 14 of their last 22 games overall. Their games have averaged 7.8 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 14-22. The over/under line for tonight’s game is set at 8 runs, and the Red Sox have gone 1-3-2 in games with that line this season.
Brayan Bello Gets The Start For The Red Sox
Brayan Bello has been solid in his first two starts of the season, picking up wins in each. He went 6 innings and struck out 7 in his last outing vs. the Pirates. He has yet to give up a home run this year, and in his first start of the season, he struck out 8 batters vs. the Angels.
Red Sox Offense Breakdown
Ceddanne Rafaela comes into the game as the Red Sox’s top run producer, as his 20 RBIs are 13th in the league and the best mark on the team. He has also hit three homers, which is 5th in the league and 2nd on the team. Rafaela is batting just .211 for the season, but he has gone 6/20 in his last six games. Jarren Duran has also been swinging a good bat of late, going 7/24 in his last six games and is batting .265 for the season.
As a team, the Red Sox are 14th in the league in scoring at 4.3 runs per game. They have been a better offensive team on the road this season, averaging 4.5 runs per contest. Overall, they are batting .244, which is 9th in the league.
Nationals vs Red Sox Prediction
The best way to play this Nationals vs. Red Sox matchup is to take the Red Sox on the money line, where they are sitting at -154. We actually have the Red Sox winning this game by a score of 6-4. Looking at the Nationals vs. Red Sox head-to-head, we have the Red Sox finishing with 11 hits compared to the Nationals with nine.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Brayan Bello is projected to finish with six strikeouts compared to MacKenzie Gore at seven. However, Bello is projected to finish with a better ERA than Gore, and we have Bello finishing with the ninth-best ERA among starters today.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
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Last updated:May 12, 2024 Nationals, Red Sox