It is an NL East clash as the Philadelphia Phillies face the Washington Nationals. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Phillies-Nationals prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Phillies come in losers of four straight and being swept by the New York Mets. They are now 25-31 on the season and sit just one game ahead of the Nationals for last place in the division. The Phillies have been struggling to score as of late. While going just 3-7 in their last ten games, they have scored just 31 runs in the process. The Nationals avoided the sweep last time out, beating the Dodgers. They are 5-05 in their last ten games and are 24-32 on the season.
Here are the Phillies-Nationals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Phillies-Nationals Odds
Philadelphia Phillies: -1.5 (-114)
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (-105)
Over: 9 (-110)
Under: 9 (-110)
How To Watch Phillies vs. Nationals
TV: NBC10/MASN
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:05 PM ET/ 4:05 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Phillies Could Cover The Spread
The Phillies are not scoring enough runs consistently right now. They are 13th in the majors in batting average and 14th in slugging percentage, but they sit 24th in the majors in runs scored. The biggest issue for them has been driving in runs with runners in scoring position. They sit 28th in the majors hitting .227 this year. One of the better hitters in the RISP situations has been Alec Bohm, but he is out with an injury. The other man hitting over .300 with runners in scoring position is Brandon Marsh. Marsh has been getting hot as of late. He has hits in seven of his last eight games while driving in six runs.
Joining Marsh with a hot bat is Nick Castellanos. Castellanos is hitting .348 over the last week with three RBIs, a double, and a triple. He has also scored two runs in that time. Kody Clemens is hitting .313 in the last weeks. He has not driven in a run though, and struggled with runners in scoring position. The stars of this offense are still struggling though. Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, and Kyle Schwarber are all hitting below .120 in the last week.
On the hill for the Phillies, today will be Zach Wheeler. Wheeler is 4-4 on the season with a 3.60 ERA. His last time out was one of the best of the season for Wheeler. He went eight innings and gave up just three hits while striking out 12. He also did not give up a run, which is the second time he has done that this year.
Why The Nationals Could Cover The Spread
The Nationals can hit. They are 5th in the majors in batting average and 9th in on-base percentage. They are not a big-time power team, as they sit 23rd in the majors in slugging percentage, and have one of the lowest ISO power rates in the majors. They need to find a way to score more though. They are 22nd in the majors in runs scored this year. Over the last week, the runs have come via Luis Garcia. He has driven in six runs in the last week to lead the team. He has done this while also hitting .310.
Also hitting well is Keibert Ruiz. Ruiz only hit .193 in May, but in the last week is hitting .263 with five RBIs and three home runs. He has shown some power as of late and will be looking to hti another long ball against Wheeler. Jeimer Candelario is also playing well. He is coming off a three-RBI game in which he hit a home run. That was his seventh home run of the season and third in May. He also is getting on base a fair amount. In May he has an OBP of .385.
Josiah Gray will be taking the mound for the Nationals today. He is 4-5 on the year with a 2.77 ERA. In nine of his last ten starts, he has given up two or five runs. With his one start giving up more than that, it was just three runs in five innings of work. He has pitched well consistently but only has five losses due to a lack of run support. In those five losses, he got a combined two runs of run support.
Final Phillies-Nationals Prediction & Pick
The Nationals are sending out the team that is playing better. They have the better pitcher going out there today. They have the better offense going out there today. While Josiah Gray is not going to strike fear into the opponent, he has been solid all year long. Both teams struggle to score runs, so this one will come down to the pitching. In this match-up, Gray has pitched better this year and as of late.
Final Phillies-Nationals Prediction & Pick: Nationals +1.5 (-105)
Follow Us
Subscribe