Tampa Bay Rays vs Washington Nationals Prediction 8/30/2025 Today’s MLB Picks

Chris Ruffolo

24 hours ago

Aug 25, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) celebrates his two-run home run in the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images

Tampa Bay (65-69) vs Washington (53-81)

August 30, 2025 at 04:05 PM EDT

The Line: Betting Odds: Washington +125 — Over/Under: +9

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Washington Nationals meet Saturday in MLB action from Nationals Park. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Tampa Bay Rays vs. Washington Nationals prediction.

Starting Pitching Matchup

The Tampa Bay Rays will send out Ryan Pepiot for the start here and Pepiot is 9-10 with a 3.82 ERA and 149 strikeouts this season. This will be Pepiot’s first career start against the Nationals. Washington will start Jake Irvin here and Irvin is 8-9 with a 5.40 ERA and 99 strikeouts this season. This will be Irvin’s second career start against the Rays.

Tampa Bay Rays Recap

The Tampa Bay Rays come into this game looking to add on to their win over the Nationals from Friday’s matchup to sit at 65-69 this season. After this series, the Rays will head home for a series against the Seattle Mariners.

Rays Win 4 Of Their Last 6

Jonathan Aranda has 113 hits with 22 doubles, 12 home runs and 54 RBIs. Brandon Lowe has 109 hits with 26 homers and 65 RBIs as well while Junior Caminero has 128 hits with 22 doubles, a team-high 39 home runs and 94 RBIs. Yandy Diaz has 142 hits with 25 doubles, 22 homers and 74 RBIs.

Why the Tampa Bay Rays will win

The Nationals have lost each of their last seven games against AL East opponents.
The Rays have won each of their last five games against NL East opponents.
The Rays have covered the run line in each of their last 12 Saturday day road games.
The Nationals have failed to cover the run line in 14 of their last 15 home games against teams that held a losing record.

Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts

Yandy Diaz has recorded a Double in three of the Rays’ last four games against opponents that held a losing record.
Brandon Lowe has hit a home run in four of the Rays’ last five games as road favorites.
Ha-Seong Kim has recorded at least one hit in each of his last nine road appearances against NL opponents that held a losing record.
Chandler Simpson ranks 2nd in the league in Steals (38) this season.

Washington Nationals Recap

The Washington Nationals come into this game looking to rebound from their loss at the hands of Tampa Bay on Friday to fall to 53-81 this season. After this series, the Nationals will take on the Miami Marlins in a series at home.

Nationals Lose 6th Straight

James Wood has 130 hits with 31 doubles and a team-high 26 home runs along with 83 RBIs and 15 stolen bases while also putting up 178 strikeouts. CJ Abrams has 127 hits with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs along with 27 doubles and 26 stolen bases while Luis Garcia Jr. has 25 doubles and 10 stolen bases of his own this season.

Why the Washington Nationals will win

The Rays have lost five of their last six games as favorites against NL East opponents following a win.
The Nationals have won three of their last four games as home underdogs following a home loss.
The Rays have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six games as favorites against NL East opponents following a win.
The Nationals have covered the run line in four of their last five day games following a loss.

Washington Nationals Player Prop Facts

Paul DeJong has hit a home run in each of his last two appearances against the Rays after playing the previous day.
Josh Bell has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 11 appearances against AL East opponents.

Total Runs Facts

Each of the Nationals’ last six day games against AL East opponents have gone OVER the total runs line.
Five of the Rays’ last six games as favorites against NL East opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.