The Washington Nationals will play the Miami Marlins in Game 1 of their series on Friday night at loanDepot park in Miami, Florida. The Marlins continue to struggle and they are losing valuable ground in the NL Wild Card race.
Nationals Preview
The Washington Nationals are 59-69 this season and they have won six of their last eight games. Washington is coming off of a series win against the Yankees, where they won two out of three games. The Nationals are playing some of their best baseball of the year currently and they are in a battle with the Mets for fourth place in the NL East. The Washington pitching staff has a 4.91 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP, and a .267 opponent batting average this year. The Nationals offense has scored 561 runs with a .259 batting average and a .319 on base percentage. Lane Thomas is batting .284 with 20 home runs and 69 RBI’s for the Nationals. The projected starting pitcher for Washington is Joan Adon, who is 1-0 with a 7.00 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP over 18 innings pitched this season.
Marlins Preview
The Miami Marlins are 65-63 this season and they have lost six of their last eight games. Miami is coming off of a series loss to the Padres, where they lost two out of three games. The Marlins have really struggled offensively in recent games, scoring two runs or fewer in four of their last five. The Miami pitching staff has a 4.18 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and a .243 opponent batting average. The Marlins offense has scored 518 runs with a .259 batting average and a .315 on base percentage this season. Jorge Soler is batting .238 with 33 home runs and 68 RBI’s for the Marlins. The projected starting pitcher for Miami is Braxton Garrett, who is 7-4 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP over 128 innings pitched this year.
Miami Marlins Team Facts
- The Marlins have won each of their last six games against the Nationals.
- The Marlins have failed to cover the run line in each of their last seven games as favorites against National League opponents following a loss.
- The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Marlins' last three home games against National League opponents.
Washington Nationals Team Facts
- The Nationals have lost eight of their last nine night games against the Marlins following a win.
- The Nationals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last four night games following a road win.
- The Nationals have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last five night games at LoanDepot Park against National League opponents.
- The Nationals have led after 5 innings in each of their last three games as underdogs against National League opponents.
Miami Marlins Player Prop Facts
- Jorge Soler has hit a home run in three of the Marlins' last four games as favorites against NL opponents.
- Josh Bell has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last five appearances with his team as a favorite against the Nationals.
- Bryan De La Cruz has scored at least one run in each of his last five home appearances after not playing the previous day.
- Braxton Garrett has recorded five or more strikeouts in each of his last nine appearances at LoanDepot Park against NL opponents that held a losing record.
- Jazz Chisholm has recorded at least one hit in each of his last eight appearances at LoanDepot Park against opponents that held a losing record.
- Jazz Chisholm has recorded at least one total base in each of his last eight appearances at LoanDepot Park against NL opponents that held a losing record.
- Jorge Soler ranks 7th in the league in Home Runs (33) this season.
Washington Nationals Player Prop Facts
- Joey Meneses has hit a home run in two of his last three road appearances against the Marlins.
- Joey Meneses has recorded at least one RBI in three of his four previous appearances against the Marlins at LoanDepot Park.
- Joey Meneses has scored at least one run in seven of the Nationals' last eight road games against NL opponents that held a winning record.
- Lane Thomas has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Nationals' last four games as underdogs against NL East opponents.
- Lane Thomas has recorded at least one hit in each of the Nationals' last seven games as underdogs against the Marlins.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Miami Marlins ranks 27th in the league for RBI's this season (492).
- The Miami Marlins ranks T27th in the league for walks this season (332).
- The Washington Nationals ranks 2nd in the league for strikeouts against this season (909).
- The Washington Nationals ranks 29th in the league for strikeouts this season (978).
Pick
The Marlins desperately need a series win this weekend, but they are playing a Washington team that is full of confidence here. The Marlins will look to jump start their offense and they will face Joan Adon, who has allowed 11 earned runs in his last three outings (13 IP). Miami will turn to Braxton Garrett, who has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five straight starts. The Marlins are relatively large favorites to win this game and while they have struggled recently, I think they will right the ship here. Take the Marlins -1.5 in this matchup.