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The Nationals make the trip to Cleveland to face the Guardians! The Nationals have struggled to find any consistency, while the Guardians have been one of the best teams in the MLB this season. The Nationals have played better recently, but the Guardians are playing well still. Our MLB odds series has our Nationals-Guardians prediction, odds, and pick for Saturday.
The Nationals have been one of the most inconsistent teams in the MLB. They sit at a 26-29 record and have won three out of their last four games and two straight heading into this game. Their pitching has been solid and is just outside the top 10, while they have struggled behind the plate on offense. Jesse Winker, CJ Abrams, Joey Meneses, and Luis Garcia Jr. have stood out for an average offense this season in the capital. Trevor Williams, MacKenzie Gore, and Jake Irvin have all been solid up to this point for the staff and have carried the team on the mound this season. The Nationals have talent, but it has been difficult to put it all together this season and this is going to be a struggle against a team as good as the Guardians.
The Guardians have been great this season at 37-19. They have been trading wins and losses since their nine-game winning streak was snapped. Their bats have dipped recently and are in the middle of the pack behind the plate. In comparison, their pitching has been a top-10 pitching staff. Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez, Tyler Freeman, and Josh Naylor have carried the Guardians behind the plate. Tanner Bibee, Triston McKenzie, and Ben Lively have held down the fort in the pitching staff very well despite their ace, Shane Bieber, being injured and getting Tommy John Surgery. The Guardians have been great to start the year and they get a matchup against a Nationals team that has struggled across the board to find any sort of consistency.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Nationals-Guardians Odds
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (-156)
Moneyline: +136
Cleveland Guardians: -1.5 (+130)
Moneyline: -162
Over: 8.5 (105)
Under: 8.5 (-115)
How to Watch Nationals vs. Guardians
Time: 4:10 pm ET
TV: Bally Sports Great Lakes / MASN
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Nationals Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Nationals are starting Mitchell Parker on the mound in this game and he has a 4-2 record, a 3.45 ERA, and a 1.11 WHIP. Through 44.1 innings, Parker has allowed 17 runs on 41 hits with eight walks and 38 strikeouts. The Nationals are 5-3 in the eight games that he's started this season. In his last start, he pitched 6.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with zero walks and six strikeouts in a Nationals win. Parker has been solid for the Nationals on the mound, but this is a difficult matchup against the Guardians with how streaky they can be behind the plate.
The offense for the Nationals has struggled this season. They are 24th in the MLB in team batting average at .233 after having a team batting average of .254 one season ago. Luis Garcia Jr., CJ Abrams, Joey Meneses, and Jesse Winker stand out and lead the way in most of the batting categories. Abrams leads the way in home runs at nine and then in total hits at 54. Garcia Jr. then leads in batting average at .262, Meneses leads in RBI at 26, and Winker leads the way in OBP at .352. The Nationals have struggled behind the plate and it does not get any easier against Ben Lively on the mound for the Guardians with the season he has been having.
Why The Guardians Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Guardians are starting Ben Lively on the mound where he has a 4-2 record, a 2.80 ERA, and a 1.18 WHIP. Lively has allowed 14 runs on 39 hits with 14 walks and 43 strikeouts. In his eight starts this season, the Guardians are 5-3. In his last start, he pitched six innings and allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts for a Guardians win. Lively has been one of the best pitchers for the Guardians and this is. favorable matchup for him against a struggling Nationals offense behind the plate.
The Guardians are a very talented team behind the plate but they have dipped recently. They are 16th in team batting average at .239 after finishing last season with a .259 batting average which was one of the best in the league. The offense is led by Jose Ramirez and Andres Gimenez leads the way in most of the batting categories. Ramirez leads the way in batting average at .271, in home runs at 16, in RBI at 56, and in total hits at 60. Gimenez then leads the way in OBP at .333. The Guardians have a deep roster of bats and just need to play better overall.
Final Nationals-Guardians Prediction & Pick
The Nationals have struggled behind the plate, but the difference might be Mitchell Parker on the mound for them. The Guardians are deeper and have more talent, but Parker could slow the bats down. Lively has been great in his own right, so this should be a pitching duel. In that case, expect the Nationals to cover in this game, but the Guardians might still win in a very close game.
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Final Nationals-Guardians Prediction & Pick: Nationals +1.5 (-156)
