The Philadelphia Phillies will look to achieve their first-series win of the 2024 campaign when they take on the Washington Nationals. It is time to take a look at our MLB odds series, where our Phillies-Nationals prediction and pick will be made.

Entering the weekend with a 3-4 record up to this point, the Phillies are fresh off losing two of three to the Cincinnati Reds, including the rubber match on Wednesday, with the final score coming in at 4-1. Regardless, hopes are high in the City of Brotherly Love and the expectations this season are for the Phillies to be competing for the National League Pennant. Projected to make the start on the mound is Suarez, who struck out seven batters while giving up three runs in his season debut against the Atlanta Braves.

The Nationals come into this matchup one game behind the Phillies at 2-5 overall. After beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 at home on Wednesday, the Pirates bounced back on Thursday to pick up a 7-4 victory that won them the series.

Fresh off a 2023 season where Washington finished 71-91, the Nationals could use every win they can get in order to show that they are headed in the right direction. Getting the nod for this one will be Jake Irvin who struck out four while also giving up three runs over five innings in his season debut against the Reds. After the Phillies picked up a 4-0 win in the series opener, let's take a look at the odds for this upcoming game, while making a final pick and prediction.

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Phillies-Nationals Odds

Philadelphia Phillies: -1.5 (-108)

Moneyline: -174

Washington Nationals: +1.5 (-111)

Moneyline: +146

Over: 8.5 (-110)

Under: 8.5 (-110)

How to Watch Phillies vs. Nationals

Time: 4:05 ET/1:05 PT

TV: MLB.TV

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Phillies Will Cover The Spread/Win

On Friday night, it was the Phillies that took advantage of every Nationals miscue. And as they appear to be on paper, Philadelphia was simply the better offensive team.

On a night where only four runs were scored, Philadelphia could not stop themselves from getting on base. In the 4-0 win, the Phillies racked up nine hits and were stringing together productive at-bats all night long. Philly did most of their damage in the second inning when they scored three times to give themselves a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

With three home runs to his name already, Bryce Harper has gotten off to a scorching start this season, and that continued on Friday, as he added three more hits to his stat sheet. If he can continue his hot streak with the lumber in his hands, then the Phillies are going to be tough to stop.

A quick look at his numbers indicates that Suarez didn't have a great season debut, but there was plenty of good to take away from his outing. While he wasn't as sharp as he typically is in his first start of the season, if Suarez can pitch deep into this game, chances are Philadelphia will pick up the win, and maybe even cover the spread.

Why The Nationals Will Cover The Spread/Win

There's no other way around it… getting shutout is never a good thing in the MLB. Nevertheless, the Nationals have no time to feel sorry for themselves. In order for them to improve upon their 71-win season from a year ago, they will need to take a hard look in the mirror to start coming up victorious on a consistent basis.

The most obvious issue is that collecting only two hits on the day simply isn't going to cut it, as the heart of their lineup was a no-show in their loss to the Phillies. Only CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas were able to get hits in this one, and there's no question that the Nats have to rebound in a big way with the sticks.

All together, gaining some confidence at the plate all starts with a strong start in the opening frames. As long as Washington batters aren't swinging at balls out of the strike zone and are staying disciplined, then success will follow offensively. After failing to score on Friday, you could argue that the Nationals are due to put some runs on the board, which could lead them being an underdog worth betting on.

If Washington's lineup can wake up and Irvin can quiet Philadelphia's offense, they will have a chance to pull out a win. That's obviously going to be easier said than done, but any team can win on any given day in the MLB, and today could just be the Nationals day.

Final Phillies-Nationals Prediction & Pick

Shockingly, the Phillies own the worst bullpen statistically through the first seven of games of the season. It is hard to imagine that the Nats bats will be as poor as they were on Friday. As a result, it wouldn't be a surprise if Washington makes this one entertaining at the very least.

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Final Phillies-Nationals Prediction & Pick: Nationals +1.5 (-111)