The Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies split a doubleheader yesterday and will play their third game of the series today. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Nationals-Phillies prediction, pick, and how to watch.
In game one of the doubleheader, the Nationals started with a nice lead. Kiebert Ruiz hit a solo shot in the second, and then Lane Thomas hit a two-run jack in the top of the third to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead. Former Nationals Kyle Schwarber struck back. In the bottom of the third, he hit a two-run shot, and Alex Bohm followed with a home run of his own. Schwarber would home again in the fourth, this time with a three-run shot to give the Phillies a 6-3 lead. They would hold on to that lead to take game one.
Game two was the opposite for the Phillies. They started with the lead on a Trea Turner double. The Nationals would take the lead back in the top of the fourth, but a Bryce Harper two-run home run and a Bryson Stott single gave the Phillies a 4-2 lead after five innings. Joey Meneses would tie things up on a two-run home run in the fourth off reliever Jeff Hoffman, who is getting more time due to some key injuries to relievers. Then, at the top of the ninth, Meneses would do it again. He hit a solo home run to give the Nationals the win and the split of the doubleheader. Game three of four is tonight, as both teams try to grab a win and secure a split of the series.
Here are the Nationals-Phillies MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Nationals-Phillies Odds
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (-134)
Philadelphia Phillies: -1.5 (+112)
Over: 9 (-102)
Under: 9 (-120)
How To Watch Nationals vs. Phillies
TV: MASN2/NBCSCP
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 6:40 PM PM ET/ 3:40 PM PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Nationals Could Cover The Spread
Joey Meneses and Lane Thomas continue to lead this Nationals offense. On the year, the offense is 19th in runs scored, sixth in batting average, 17th in on-base percentage, and 19th in slugging. Lane Thomas hit a home run in the first game yesterday, his fourth of the month. This month he is hitting .276 with a .303 on-base percentage. He has two doubles to go with his four home runs and has scored eight times. He has also stolen three bases and drove in ten runs this month.
Meanwhile, Meneses had two home runs in the second game of the series. This month he is hitting .241 with a double and three home runs. That has led to him scoring six times and driving in five runs since the start of August. Menenes has just 11 home runs on the year, but nine of them have come since the start of July, as he has begun to swing for more power as of late.
Dominic Smith joins Menenes and Thomas in hitting well. When he has not driven in a run or scored one in the last week, he is getting on base a lot. In the week, Smith is hitting .357 with a .471 on-base percentage. He has a double as well with two walks. Meanwhile, Jake Alu is driving in some runs. In the last week, Alue is hitting .294 with four RBIs. He has scored one with the help of a double and a stolen base.
The Nationals will be sending MacKenzie Gore to the mound today. He is 6-8 on the season with a 4.34 ERA. Gore has been pitching well as of late. In his last three starts, he has gone a combined 16 innings and given up just five runs. The last time he faced the Phillies though, he struggled. He went just 2.2 innings, giving up seven runs and a home run in a loss. That was by far his worst outing of the year, and he has lost both games he has started against the Phillies this season.
Why The Phillies Could Cover The Spread
The Phillies have been solid on offense as of late and will be looking to continue that today. At the plate this year, the Phillies are 14th in runs scored, while sitting tenth in batting average, 13th in on-base percentage, and 12th in slugging. It was Kyle Schwarber who launched two home runs against the Nationals in game one of the doubleheader. This month he continues to hit home runs. He has three already this month, leading to seven RBIs. He is hitting .200 on the month, but with six walks he has an on-base percentage of .351 this month. Schwarber has also scored six times this month, all coming in the last four games.
Meanwhile, Trea Turner, Bryson Stott, and Alec Bohm have all been driving in runs as of late. All three of them have six RBIs in the last week. Bohm has done it while hitting two home runs and two doubles. He is hitting .385 in the last week with a .407 on-base percentage. He has also scored seven times. Turner is hitting .259 over the last week, but with four doubles and a home run, he has six RBIs. Turner has stolen a base and scored five times. Stott is hitting .346 over the last week. He also has a home run and three doubles. Stott has stolen two bases and scored five times in the last week.
Michael Lorenzen will make his second start as a member of the Phillies in this one. On the season he is 6-7 witha 3.48 ERA. In his first start with the Phillies, he was solid. He gave up two runs with a home run in eight innings of work. With four runs of support, that gave him a win. He came into the month hot. In July, Lorenzen gave up just three runs in 23.2 innings of work, good for a 1.13 ER and a 3-1 record.
Final Nationals-Phillies Prediction & Pick
In the pitching match up, the Phillies have the edge. While Gore has looked good at times, Lorenzen has been better. Even more, with how the Phillies are hitting, getting lots of hard-hit contact with the barrel on the ball, they should score plenty today. For as solid as the Nationals have been as of late, they do not have enough in this one to win. Back the Phillies in this one.
Final Nationals-Phillies Prediction & Pick: Phillies -1.5 (+112)