The Dodgers face the Nationals in D.C.! Our MLB odds series has our Dodgers-Nationals prediction, odds, and pick for Thursday.
The Astros make the trip to Chicago to face the Cubs. The Astros have been struggling, while the Cubs have been gaining momentum heading into this matchup. Our MLB odds series has our Dodgers-Nationals prediction, odds, and pick for Tuesday.
The Dodgers were billed as a super team before the year and they currently have a 14-11 record, which is good, but not great. They have the offense where they are a top 10 unit behind the plate, but they are only around the middle of the pack when it comes to their pitching staff. On offense, there are stars galore with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Max Muncy to name a few. The pitching needs to be better with Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and James Paxton being good but Glasnow has been the only one that has been great. The pieces are still fitting together for the Dodgers in the early part of the season.
The Nationals have epitomized inconsistency so far this season. They have a 10-12 record and have been alternating wins and losses recently. Both their pitching and hitting have not been great, with both ranking in the bottom half of the MLB. Jesse Winker, CJ Abrams, and Luis Garcia Jr. have stood out for a below-average offense up to this point in the season. Jake Irvin and Trevor Williams have been solid up to this point despite the staff struggling as a unit. The Nationals have the talent, but it depends on if they can put it all together this season, and they have been very inconsistent to start the year.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Dodgers-Nationals Odds
Los Angeles Dodgers: -1.5 (-125)
Moneyline: -210
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (+104)
Moneyline: +176
Over: 8.5 (-104)
Under: 8.5 (-118)
How to Watch Dodgers vs. Nationals
Time: 4:05 pm ET
TV: MASN / Spectrum SportsNet
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Dodgers Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Dodgers are putting Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound where he has a 1-1 record, a 4.50 ERA, and a 1.14 WHIP. Through 22 innings, he has allowed 12 runs on 20 hits with three home runs, five walks, and 30 strikeouts. In his five appearances this season, the Dodgers are 1-4 in those games. In his last time out, he pitched 6.0 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits with one walk and nine strikeouts in a Dodgers loss. This is Yamamoto’s first season in the MLB and it has been a work in progress for him to get acclimated. He has a good matchup in this spot against the Washington offense.
The Dodgers have the most talent on offense in the MLB, and they have a .259 batting average so far this season which is good for sixth in the MLB. This was after last year when they finished with a .257 batting average. Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts lead the way in most of the batting categories. Ohtani leads the way in batting average at .364 and in total hits at 36. Betts then leads the way in home runs at six, in RBI at 19, and in OBP at .458. This will be an interesting matchup for the Dodgers offense against MacKenzie Gore for the Nationals
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Why The Nationals Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Nationals are going with MacKenzie Gore on the mound in this game and he has a 2-1 record, a 3.60 ERA, and a 1.35 WHIP. Through 20 innings, Gore has allowed eight runs on 21 hits with six walks and 27 strikeouts. The Nationals are 2-2 in the four games that he’s appeared in this season. In his last start, he threw 4.0 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Last season, Gore was inconsistent with a 7-10 record, a 4.42 ERA, and a 1.40 WHIP. Gore has been decent on the mound up to this point in the year, but the Dodgers are a different beast altogether.
The offense for the Nationals has been subpar this season. They are tied for 18th in the MLB in team batting average at .237 after having a team batting average of .254 last season. Jesse Winker, CJ Abrams, and Luis Garcia Jr. lead the way in most of the important batting categories. CJ Abrams leads the way in total home runs at six, in RBI at 12, and in total hits at 25. Garcia Jr. leads the way in batting average at .318 and Winker leads the way in OBP at .425. The Nationals offense has struggled to start the year, and the matchup against Yamamoto is a difficult one.
Final Dodgers-Nationals Prediction & Pick
The Dodgers are the better team in this matchup, point blank. Yamamoto has been slow to start the year for the Dodgers, but it should not matter against the Nationals bats. The Dodgers have the most talent in the MLB and that will win out against MacKenzie Gore on the mound. The Dodgers should win and win easily on their way to a cover, despite being on the road.
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Final Dodgers-Nationals Prediction & Pick: Dodgers -1.5 (-125)
