Washington Nationals vs. Miami Marlins – 8/21/20 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction
2020-08-21 18:05:00 EDT
The Miami Marlins and the Washington Nationals meet Friday in MLB action from Nationals Park.
Miami is coming off a series versus the Mets this week. The Marlins dropped the first three games of that set 11-4, 8-3 and 5-3. Prior to the Thursday finale the Mets had two players test positive for coronavirus, and that finale has been postponed. As for the Nationals, they played Atlanta this week. Washington lost Monday 7-6, then won Tuesday 8-5. The Wednesday game was postponed due to a rainout. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place.
For the Friday matchup, the Marlins will send out Elieser Hernandez as the starter. Over three starts and no decisions so far, Hernandez holds a 1.84 ERA with 19 strikeouts and a 0.75 WHIP in 14.2 innings. Over his MLB career, Hernandez has a 5-12 mark with a 4.81 ERA and 149 Ks in 162.2 innings of work.
Over on the Nationals’ side, they’ve had a few hitters get off to nice starts this season. Juan Soto leads the team with seven homers and 16 RBI, maintaining a .417 batting average over 13 starts. Asdrubal Cabrera is also hitting well with five homers and 16 RBI with a .280 average, and Trea Turner has four homers, nine RBI and is hitting .291 so far.
In Friday’s starting role, Washington will send out Patrick Corbin. Over four games so far this year, Corbin has a 2-1 mark with a 3.91 ERA and 2 Ks in 23.0 innings of work. Corbin is 72-62 over his MLB career with a 3.80 ERA and 1157 strikeouts in 1170.2 frames.
The Marlins are 24-49 in their last 73 games overall and 16-37 in their last 53 road games. Miami is 4-9 in their last 13 road games versus a left-handed starter and the over is 5-1 in their last six road games versus a left-handed starter.
Meanwhile, the Nationals are 40-16 in their last 56 games as a home favorite and 5-2 in their last seven Friday games. Washington is 7-3 in their last 10 games following an off day and 65-30 in their last 95 games as a favorite.
Pick: I’m leaning Marlins on a value pick here. Granted, Corbin has played very well against Miami over his career; he has a 3-0 record versus the Marlins in four starts with a 1.55 ERA and 29 Ks. I like Corbin to get off to a good start here, so if the Marlins are going to break out it’s going to be in the later innings. Hernandez has been pitching well so far and has a nasty slider, so if he’s on the Miami should be able to keep the game close. This one should be a tight and relatively low-scoring affair.
