The Washington Nationals (55-68) travel to face off against the Philadelphia Phillies (72-50) on Saturday, August 17th. This game will be played at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and televised on MASN. The Phillies are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Nationals are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Phillies. First pitch is set for 5:05 CT.

Nationals vs. Phillies Betting Prediction

• Money Line Prediction: Phillies (-202)
• Over/Under Prediction: Over 9 Runs

• The Phillies have won 6 of their last 10 games, indicating strong recent form.
• The Phillies have a home record of 41-22, showcasing their dominance at home.
• In the last 15 games, the Phillies have scored 5 or more runs in 8 games, demonstrating consistent offensive production.
• The Phillies have won their last 3 games against the Nationals, including two recent home games with scores of 13-3 and 3-2.
• The Phillies have a league rank of 1st in the NL East, while the Nationals are ranked 13th, highlighting the disparity in team performance.

Nationals vs Phillies

Philadelphia picked up a 3-2 win over the Nationals in the most recent game of this series. The Phillies had a two-run 3rd inning and scored the game’s final run in the 5th. As for the Nationals, they scored their only two runs in the 9th. Heading into the game, the Phillies were favored at -280 on the money line.

Aaron Nola started for the Phillies and picked up the win, going 6 2/3 innings and not giving up a run. He finished the game with four strikeouts but issued two walks. As for the Nationals, Patrick Corbin got the start and took the loss, going just 4 1/3 innings and giving up two earned runs on seven hits.

Trea Turner had a four-hit game for the Phillies, while James Wood went 3/3 with two RBIs for the Nationals. Wood was the only player in the game to homer.

Washington has an overall series record of 16-19-3 and a run line record of 69-54 this season. Their straight-up record is 55-68, and they are 17.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East. The Nationals have lost three straight games and two consecutive series.

When the over/under line is set at 9 runs, the Nationals have a 13-13-3 O/U record. Their games have averaged 9.1 runs per game, and their overall O/U record is 62-56. This season, Washington is 60-43 against the run line as the underdog and 9-11 as the favorite.

MacKenzie Gore Gets The Start For The Nationals

Left-hander MacKenzie Gore gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Phillies on the road. He has made 24 starts this season and has a record of 7-10 with an ERA of 4.50. Gore’s WHIP for the season is 1.57, and he is coming off a rough outing in which he gave up five earned runs in four innings of work. In that outing, he gave up two homers. Before that, he had won two straight starts. Opponents are batting .268 off Gore this season. Per nine innings, he is averaging 9.75 strikeouts and 3.9 walks.

Nationals Offense Breakdown

Washington’s offense is averaging just 4.3 runs per game this season, which is 18th in the league and is also the worst home run hitting team in the league. As a team, they are batting .244, which is 12th in the league. Looking at their collective slugging percentage and OPS, both of those numbers are below average.

Luis Garcia Jr. and CJ Abrams are the Nationals’ top two home run hitters this season, and they are also 1-2 in terms of RBIs. Garcia Jr. comes into the game on a three-game hitting streak, and he has gone 11/27 in his last seven games. Over the same stretch, James Wood is batting .407 with one homer.

Philadelphia has a 72-50 record and is on a three-game winning streak heading into today’s game against the Nationals. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games and hold an 8-game lead over the Braves in the NL East.

As favorites, the Phillies are 61-38 straight up this season. Against the run line, they are 48-51 when favored and 12-11 as underdogs. The over/under record for Phillies games with a total of 9 runs is 5-11-1, and their overall O/U record is 57-59.

Cristopher Sánchez Gets The Start For The Phillies

Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez has a record of 8-8 and an ERA of 3.63. In his 23 starts, he has one complete game shutout and 12 quality starts. Sánchez’s WHIP for the season is 1.32, and he is coming off a rough outing vs. the Diamondbacks, where he gave up seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. Before that outing, he had won two straight starts. Sánchez has given up at least one homer in each of his last four outings. So far, he has a 6-3 record at home with a 2.52 ERA compared to 2-5 with a 5.98 ERA on the road.

Phillies Offense Breakdown

Philadelphia has been one of the league’s best offensive teams this season, averaging 4.9 runs per game, which is 6th in the MLB. They have been even better at home, averaging 5.3 runs per game. Overall, the Phillies are 8th in home runs and have the league’s 5th best team batting average at .257.

Kyle Schwarber has been a great addition to the Phillies lineup this season, as his 28 home runs are 10th in the league, and he is also 2nd on the team with 78 RBIs. However, he is batting just .251 for the season and has gone just 2/28 in his last seven games. Alec Bohm has gone 8/27 in his last seven games and is batting .296 for the season.

Nationals vs Phillies Prediction

Our predicted final score for this Nationals vs. Phillies matchup is 6-5 in favor of the Phillies. However, with the Phillies being -202 on the money line, we would recommend taking the over at 9 runs. Our predicted payout for taking the over is -105.

Looking at the starting pitchers, both MacKenzie Gore and Cristopher Sanchez are projected to go around five innings. Sanchez is projected to finish with five strikeouts, while Gore is predicted to finish with seven.

Offensively, our projections have the Phillies finishing with nine hits compared to the Nationals with nine. However, the Nationals are projected to finish with fewer runs and home runs than the Phillies.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.