The Washington Nationals (20-23) travel to face off against the Philadelphia Phillies (32-14) on Saturday, May 18th. This game will be played at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and televised on NSPPH. The Phillies are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Nationals are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Phillies. First pitch is set for 6:05 ET.
Nationals vs Phillies
Philadelphia picked up a 4-2 win over the Nationals in the most recent game of this series. The Phillies had a two-run lead going into the 5th inning, and the Nationals could only muster one more run in the 5th. As for the Phillies, they scored their final run in the 3rd. Heading into the game, the Phillies were favored at -252 on the money line.
Zack Wheeler pitched well for the Phillies in this one, going 7 1/3 innings and giving up just two earned runs. He finished the game with six strikeouts but issued three walks. Jake Irvin got the start for the Nationals, going five innings and giving up four earned runs on five hits.
Andrew McCutchen and Rhys Hoskins each homered for the Phillies, while Jean Segura scored twice and drove in a run while going 2-for-4. Bryce Harper also had a two-hit game at the plate.
Washington is 20-23 overall this season, and they have dropped three straight games heading into today’s matchup at the Phillies. So far, they are 5-3 against other NL East teams, and they trail the Phillies by 10.5 games in the division. The Nationals lost the series opener vs. the Phillies and are 4-6 over their last 10 games.
As the road underdog, the Nationals are 11-12 this season and 17-21 overall as the underdog. Washington has dropped three straight as the road underdog and are 13-13 overall on the road. Their home record is 7-10 this year.
The Nationals are 26-17 against the run line this season, including a 17-9 mark on the road. They have failed to cover the run line in three straight road games and in two straight games when favored. Overall, they are 3-2 against the run line as the favorite and 23-15 as the underdog.
Washington’s games have gone under the over/under line in three straight contests, and their games have gone under the over/under line in four of their last five games. The over/under line for their games this season has been set at an average of 8 runs per game, and their games have averaged 8.1 runs per game. Their over/under record for the season is 18-24, and their games have gone over the over/under line in 76.7% of their games this season. Their games have gone over the over/under line in four of their nine games when the line has been set at 7.5 runs.
MacKenzie Gore Gets The Start For The Nationals
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Phillies on the road. He has made eight starts this year and has a record of 2-4 with a 3.38 ERA. Gore’s WHIP for the season is 1.45, and opponents are batting .269 off him this year. In his last outing, he took the loss, giving up two earned runs in six innings of work. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight outings. Gore has allowed a homer in three of his last four starts. So far, he has made two quality starts.
Nationals Offense Breakdown
So far this season, the Nationals are averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 22nd in the league. They have been even worse in terms of power, as their 35 home runs is 17th in the league. As a team, they are batting just .223 and have the league’s 24th ranked OPS. However, they have had a few guys swing the bat well of late, including Eddie Rosario, who is hitting .250 over his last five games and has one homer and four RBIs in that stretch.
Looking at the Nationals’ season-long stats, CJ Abrams is batting .261 and leads the team with seven home runs. Joey Meneses has gone deep just once but has driven in a team-high 21 runs. So far, he is batting just .220. Nick Senzel and Eddie Rosario are also near the top of the team’s home run and RBI charts, with five homers and 11 RBIs for Senzel and five homers and 12 RBIs for Rosario.
With a record of 32-14, the Phillies lead the NL East by 3.5 games over the Braves. So far, they have gone 9-5 in divisional matchups. The Phillies have been excellent at home this season, going 17-8, and they have gone 15-6 on the road.
Philadelphia has been really good in night games this season, putting together a record of 19-6. As the favorite, the Phillies are 27-11 this season, and they are 5-3 when tabbed as the underdog. So far, they have an overall series record of 9-2-4, and they have won four straight series on the road.
The Phillies have been a solid run line bet this season, going 25-21. They’ve been even better on the road, going 13-8, compared to 12-13 at home. They’ve been a favorite in 38 games and an underdog in eight, going 20-18 and 5-3, respectively. Their average run differential is +1.6 runs per game.
The Phillies have had a combined run average of 8.9 runs per game this season, and their games have gone over the over/under line in 23 of 44 games. When the over/under line has been set at 7.5 runs, the over has hit in just four of 13 games. Tonight’s over/under line for their game against the Nationals is set at 7.5 runs, and in their last game, the total runs scored was just six.
Cristopher Sánchez Gets The Start For The Phillies
Left-hander Cristopher Sánchez gets the start for the Phillies today as he faces the Nationals at home. He has made eight starts this year and has a record of 2-3 with a 3.43 ERA. Sánchez’s WHIP for the season is 1.50, and opponents are batting .256 off him this year. In his last outing, Sánchez finished with a no-decision, giving up three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work. Before that, he had a quality start vs. the Blue Jays, going seven innings and giving up just one earned run. Sánchez has allowed at least one homer in three straight outings.
Phillies Offense Breakdown
Philadelphia comes into today’s game as the top-scoring team in the league, averaging 5.2 runs per game. They have been even better at home, putting up 5.5 runs per contest. The Phillies have been very good at avoiding strikeouts this season and are also near the top of the league in walks. As a team, they are batting .257, which is 4th in the league.
Over his last six games, Alec Bohm is hitting .269 with two runs scored and five RBIs. For the season, he is batting .331 with 37 RBIs, which is 3rd in the league. Bohm is also on a four-game hitting streak. Bryce Harper comes into the game with a team-high 10 homers and is 2nd on the club with 32 RBIs. Harper has gone deep just once in his past five games, but he is hitting .286 over that stretch.
Nationals vs Phillies Prediction
We see the best value in this Nationals vs. Phillies matchup to be on the over, with the line sitting at 7.5 runs. Our predicted final score is 5-4 in favor of the Phillies, giving us a little bit of wiggle room on the over/under line.
Offensively, our projections have the Nationals finishing with eight strikeouts, which has them sitting in the middle of the league. As for the Phillies, they are projected to finish with eight K’s, which has them as the seventh most in the league today.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
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Last updated:May 18, 2024 Nationals, Phillies