Washington Nationals (50-66) vs Oakland Athletics (33-82)
Game Info: Friday, August 11, 2023 at 7:05 pm (Nationals Park)
Joan Adon (1-0) (4.91) vs Paul Blackburn (2-2) (4.35)
Betting Odds: Washington Nationals +106 / Oakland Athletics -125 --- Over/Under: 9 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Oakland Athletics will play the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of their series on Friday night at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. Oakland comes into this series with one of the worst records in baseball, but they have found some success recently. Washington is at the bottom of the NL East, but they will be at home for this series.
Athletics Preview
The Oakland Athletics are 33-82 this season and they have won three of their last five games. Oakland is coming off of a series loss against Texas, where they lost two out of three games. The Athletics were able to avoid a sweep against Texas with the 2-0 win in Game 3 and they won both games against the Giants in the previous series. The Oakland pitching staff has a 5.77 ERA, a 1.52 WHIP, and a .267 opponent batting average this season. The Athletics offense has scored 409 runs with a .222 batting average and a .301 on base percentage. Brent Rooker is batting .240 with 18 home runs and 48 RBI’s for the Athletics. The projected starting pitcher for Oakland is Paul Blackburn, who is 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP over 60.0 innings pitched this year.
Nationals Preview
The Washington Nationals are 50-66 this season and they have won five of their last eight games. Washington is coming off of a series loss to the Phillies, where they lost three out of four games. The Nationals were no hit in Game 3 against Philadelphia and they only scored two runs in the last two games. The Washington pitching staff has a 4.91 ERA, a 1.47 WHIP, and a .270 opponent batting average. The Nationals offense has scored 498 runs with a .258 batting average and a .317 on base percentage this year. Lane Thomas is batting .283 with 20 home runs and 67 RBI’s for the Nationals. The projected starting pitcher for Washington is Joan Adon, who is 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP over 11.0 innings pitched this season.
Washington Nationals Team Facts
- The Nationals have won each of their last four games as home underdogs following a loss.
- The Nationals have covered the run line in each of their last six games as underdogs against AL West opponents following a road loss.
- The Nationals have led after 5 innings in six of their last eight games as home underdogs.
- The Nationals have led after 7 innings in six of their last eight games as home underdogs.
- The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Nationals' last six games at Nationals Park.
Oakland Athletics Team Facts
- The Athletics have lost each of their last seven games against NL East opponents.
- The Athletics have covered the run line 11 of their last 12 night games against teams that held a losing record.
- The Athletics have led after 3 innings in each of their last four night games against opponents that held a losing record.
- The Athletics have trailed after 7 innings in three of their last four games as road favorites.
- The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Athletics' last three night games.
Washington Nationals Player Prop Facts
- Joey Meneses has hit at least one home run in each of the Nationals' last three games against AL West opponents.
- Joey Meneses has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Nationals' last four games against AL West opponents at Nationals Park.
- Joey Meneses has recorded four or more total bases in each of the Nationals' last four home games against AL West opponents.
- CJ Abrams has scored at least one run in eight of his nine previous appearances against AL opponents that held a losing record.
- Keibert Ruiz has recorded at least one hit in each of his eight previous appearances against AL West opponents that held a losing record.
Oakland Athletics Player Prop Facts
- Seth Brown has hit at least one home run in six of his last 29 appearances after not playing the previous day.
- Esteury Ruiz has recorded at least one RBI in three of his last four appearances in night games against teams that held a losing record.
- Esteury Ruiz has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Athletics' last three games against NL East opponents.
- Shea Langeliers has scored at least one run in each of his last three appearances in night games against teams that held a losing record.
- Paul Blackburn has recorded four or more strikeouts in eight of his last nine appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
- Shea Langeliers has recorded at least one hit in each of the Athletics' last eight Friday night games.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Washington Nationals ranks 2nd in the league for strikeouts against this season (831).
- The Washington Nationals ranks 29th in the league for strikeouts this season (869).
- The Oakland Athletics ranks 30th in the league for RBI's this season (394).
- The Oakland Athletics ranks 30th in the league for batting average this season (.222).
Pick
Both of these teams have had major issues this season, but both teams have found some winning ways in recent games. Oakland comes into this game with a 15-41 road record, while Washington is 22-34 at home this year. The Nationals are starting Joan Adon, who has allowed six earned runs over his last 11 innings of work. The Athletics are starting Paul Blackburn, who has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three straight starts. I am going to take Oakland in this game, as Blackburn has pitched very well recently.
David’s Pick Athletics ML
AUTHOR: David Racey
Mitch's Take...
