The Washington Nationals head up I-95 to visit the Philadelphia Phillies. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Nationals-Phillies prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Nationals head back from a west coast string where they took two of three from both the Padres and the Mariners. They are 5-5 in their last ten games, and now sit 32-48 for the season. The Nationals were expected to be bad this year, but have been better than the potential of being the worst team in the majors. Yesterday was another win for the Nationals, as they defeated the Mariners 4-1, but their manager, Davey Martinez, was ejected for the second time in as many weeks.

The Phillies come in after sweeping the Cubs. They have won five of their last six games and 11 of their last 14. The Phillies are making a run back into playoff positioning. They are 43-37 on the year and currently 1.5 games back of the Giants for the final wild-card spot.

Here are the Nationals-Phillies MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Nationals-Phillies Odds

Washington Nationals: +1.5 (-125)

Philadelphia Phillies: -1.5 (+104)

Over: 9.5 (-118)

Under: 9.5 (-104)

How To Watch Nationals vs. Phillies

TV: MASN/NBCSP

Stream: MLB.TV/ESPN+

Time: 6:05 PM ET/ 3:05 PM PT

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Nationals Could Cover The Spread

The Nationals' offense has been scoring fairly well as of late. In their last five games, they have scored 25 runs, which is an average of five runs per game. That is a nice boost over the 4.16 runs per game they have averaged on the season. On the season the Nationals are 25th in the majors in runs scored while sitting 18th in on-base percentage and 22nd in slugging percentage. The Nationals are hitting well this season though, as they are seventh in the majors in batting average.

Jeimer Candelario drove in another run in the game Wednesday and has driven in 13 this month. He has been hitting fairly well this year and could be a target for teams at the trade deadline. This month he has scored 15 times as he has been getting on base at a .344 clip. He also has 11 doubles and three home runs this month.

Lane Thomas has also been hot this month. He is currently on a five-game hitting streak and has hit .330 this month. In that time, he has also driven in 17 runs while hitting ten doubles, a triple, and six home runs. Joining him in driving in runs this month is Luis Garcia. Garcia has 12 RBIs on the month, including three in the Mariners series. He is hitting .301 this month while scoring 11 times on the month.

The Nationals will be sending Josiah Gray to the mound today. He is 5-6 on the season with a 3.43 ERA. Gray has pitched better on the road than at home this year. He is 3-3 with a 2.48 ERA on the road this season. The last time out was a nice rebound for Gray. On June 19th against the Cardinals, Gray gave up six runs in five innings and took the loss. The last time out against the Padres he went 5.1 innings, giving up just four hits and not surrendering a run. That was good enough to get him his fifth win of the year.

Why The Phillies Could Cover The Spread

The Phillies as of late have been winning with some quality pitching. They have allowed just one run in three of their last six games and are pitching great at home this year. While they are 15th in team ERA, they are fifth in team ERA at home. Their ERA at home is 3.39 versus their overall ERA of 4.15. Overall, they are 15th in team ERA, ninth in WHIP and quality starts, and 15th in opponent batting average.

Christopher Sanchez will be making his fourth start of the year today. He did not make an appearance in May but has made two so far this month. The first start of the month was a four-inning outing in which he gave up a walk and a hit with no runs surrendered. The next time he gave up three runs with a home run in five innings in a loss to the Mets.

The Phillies' offense has been fairly average this year. They are tenth in batting average, 11th in slugging, 16th in OBP, and 18th in runs scored this year. Kyle Schwarber has been their home run threat this year. Yesterday he sent the first pitch he saw over the fence, giving him his eighth home run of the month. He has been hitting better this month overall. Schwarber is hitting .230, as opposed to his season average of .186. He also has 16 RBIs this month while scoring 19 times on the month.

Nick Castellanos has been the team leader in RBIs and batting average. He is seventh in the majors with a .309 batting average on the season. It has been another great month for him this month. He is hitting .355 on the month with five home runs and 21 RBIs. He has also scored 12 times this month. In the Cubs series, he was great again. He drove in five runs while hitting a home run and a double. Against the Nationals this year he is 8-14 with two home runs and five RBIs. He has also scored two runs against the Nationals.

Final Nationals-Phillies Prediction & Pick

While the Nationals have won four of their last five, the Phillies are even hotter. In the pitching match-up today, the Nationals will have a slight edge. The Phillies were able to get to Gray the last time they met. They scored four runs on Gray in 5.1 innings. The Phillies had the early lead in that game, but the Nationals made a comeback and got the victory. The Phillies took two of three in Washington, covering 1.5 runs in both of their victories. If Schwarber can keep up his hot hitting and get a good swing on Gray that’ll be the difference in the game. The Phillies get another win tonight and continue to close the gap in the Wild Card race.

Final Nationals-Phillies Prediction & Pick: Phillies -1.5 (+104) and Over 9.5 (-118)