Red Sox vs Nationals Prediction - MLB Picks 8/16/23

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The Boston Red Sox will play the Washington Nationals in Game 2 of their series on Wednesday night at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. Boston won the first game in this series by a score of 5-4 on Tuesday and they have played well recently. Washington has found some success over the last few weeks, but they are still last in the NL East standings. 

Red Sox Preview

The Boston Red Sox are 63-56 this season and they have won five of their last six games. Boston came into this series with some momentum as they won two out of three games against the Tigers in their last series. The Red Sox also defeated the Royals in a four game series before playing Detroit. The Boston pitching staff has a 4.32 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and a .255 opponent batting average this season. The Red Sox offense has scored 576 runs with a .262 batting average and a .327 on base percentage. Rafael Devers is batting .264 with 26 home runs and 79 RBI’s for the Red Sox. The projected starting pitcher for Boston is James Paxton, who is 7-3 with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP over 80.1 innings pitched this year. 

Nationals Preview

The Washington Nationals are 53-67 this season and they have won three of their last four games. Washington won all three games in their series with Oakland over the weekend. The Nationals have played better over the last few weeks, winning series against Oakland, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Colorado, and San Francisco. The Washington pitching staff has a 4.88 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP, and a .268 opponent batting average. The Nationals offense has scored 521 runs with a .259 batting average and a .319 on base percentage this year. Lane Thomas is batting .282 with 20 home runs and 68 RBI’s for the Nationals. The projected starting pitcher for Washington is MacKenzie Gore, who is 6-9 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP over 117 innings pitched this season. 

Washington Nationals Team Facts

  • The Nationals have lost each of their last 11 home games against AL East opponents that held a winning record.
  • The Nationals have covered the run line eight of their last nine games at Nationals Park against teams that held a winning record.
  • The Nationals have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last four games against AL East opponents that held a winning record.
  • The Nationals have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last four games at Nationals Park against AL East opponents that held a winning record.

Boston Red Sox Team Facts

  • The Red Sox have won each of their last seven night games against National League opponents.
  • The Red Sox have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six games against National League opponents following a road win.
  • The Red Sox have won the first inning in each of their last four games against NL East opponents that held a losing record.
  • The Red Sox have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last three games as road favorites against National League opponents.
  • The Red Sox have led after 5 innings in each of their last four night games against opponents that held a losing record.

Matchup/League Facts

  • The Washington Nationals ranks 2nd in the league for strikeouts against this season (860).
  • The Washington Nationals ranks 29th in the league for strikeouts this season (903).
  • The Boston Red Sox are one of only 4 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both strikeouts and on-base percentage this season.
  • The Boston Red Sox ranks T4th in the league for walks allowed this season (340).

Pick

Boston was able to sneak out a one run victory in Game 1 of this series and they remain a few games out of the last Wild Card spot in the AL. The Nationals are starting MacKenzie Gore, who has allowed three runs or fewer in three of his last four starts, but did allow six earned runs to Philadelphia in his last outing. The Red Sox are starting James Paxton, who has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his last four starts. I expect Boston to get the win in this game, but I think we are going to see a lower scoring game here. Both of these pitchers have found some success recently and the Nationals do not have an overpowering lineup. Take the under here. 

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

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