The Arizona Diamondbacks are aiming for the sweep of the Washington Nationals. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Diamondbacks-Nationals prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Diamondbacks now have a two-game lead in the NL West thanks to two straight wins over the Nationals, while the Dodgers have fallen twice to the Reds. Winners of eight of their last ten games, the Diamondbacks' offense is running well. They have scored 16 runs in the two games against the Nationals while scoring 53 runs in their last ten games. Last night Zach Davies pitched great for the Diamondbacks, striking out eight batters while allowing just two runs in 6.2 innings. Meanwhile, Corbin Carroll hit his 11th home run of the season, while Evan Longoria added two RBIs on the day. For the Nationals, It was a struggle of a game. Patrick Crobin went six innings but allowed 11 hits and three runs. The Nats went one for five with runners in scoring position and lost their fourth straight game.
Here are the Diamondbacks-Nationals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Diamondbacks-Nationals Odds
Arizona Diamondbacks: -1.5 (+104)
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (-125)
Over: 8.5 (-122)
Under: 8.5 (+100)
How To Watch Diamondbacks vs. Nationals
TV: BSAZ/MASN2
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 1:05 PM ET/ 11:05 AM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Diamondbacks Could Cover The Spread
The 22-year-old outfielder Corbin Carroll has been amazing this year for the Diamondbacks. He is 17th in the league this year with a .300 average, while also hitting 11 home runs and driving in 27. He is tenth in the league in OPS and has stolen 18 bases this year. Since June started, he has been on fire as well. He has stolen two bases while hitting .375. He has hit two home runs and driven in five in just six games.
Also swinging a hot back has been the third baseman, Emmanuel Rivera. Rivera is hitting .450 in the last week while driving in three runs, and hitting two doubles. Christian Walker has been heating up as well. He has hits in five of his last six games while getting on base at a .455 clip since June began. His OPS this month is .928, and he is hitting the ball hard.
It will be Merrill Kelly on the mound today for the Diamondbacks. He has been great this year, sitting at 7-3 with a 2.80 ERA. Last time out he went seven innings with just two earned runs and five hits. It was the fourth straight start in which he gave up two or fewer earned runs and received a win. He has also been striking out batters well. He has struck out eight or more batters in three of the last four starts.
Why The Nationals Could Cover The Spread
The Nationals struck out a lot yesterday, which is normally not an issue for them. They are great at making contact, currently sitting fourth in the majors in team batting average. They are 11th in on-base percentage as well. The problem is, that they are not producing a lot of runs with all of that. They sit 23rd in the majors in runs scored this year. Jose Meneses is the team leader in RBIs with 30, but that ties him for 61st in the majors, while he is tenth in batting average. Last night he added another two hits and a walk, but he failed to score a run, as no one could drive him home.
One of the major issues for the Nationals is a lack of power. Lane Thomas has been the closest thing to a power bat this year for the Nationals. He has nine home runs on the year, with 12 doubles and a triple to give him a .455 slugging percentage. The power numbers for Thomas are fairly recent. He went all of April without hitting a home run but then hit eight in May and has one already in June. If he can replicate his May power numbers, maybe the Nats can score a few more runs and get some more wins.
Josiah Gray will be starting for the Nationals today. He is 4-5 on the year with a 3.09 ERA. His month of May was solid, as he went 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA. He gave up three or fewer runs in each start. He has been able to do that in 10 of his 12 starts this year. The only two times he did not were his first start of the year and the last time out. Last time out Gray went 5.1 innings giving up four runs and six hits in that time frame.
Final Diamondbacks-Nationals Prediction & Pick
There are not a lot of household names in this series. The biggest name may be the aging role player for the Diamondbacks, Evan Longoria. That will change over the season. Corbin Carroll is a budding star in the majors, and Lane Thomas may be as well. Josiah Gray has been quietly good this season and has Merrill Kelly. However, Kelly has been the better pitcher, and Arizona will run out the better offense. Take them to cover in this one.
Final Diamondbacks-Nationals Prediction & Pick: Diamondbacks -1.5 (+104)
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