Washington Nationals vs. Tampa Bay Rays MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 6/8/2021

The Washington Nationals and the Tampa Bay Rays meet in MLB action from Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.

The Washington Nationals will look to rebound from a 12-6 loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies in their last matchup. Juan Soto went 2 for 4 with a triple and two RBIs while Trea Turner, Victor Robles and Andrew Stevenson each had RBIs with Robles adding a pair of doubles and Turner adding a pair of base hits as well. Josh Bell, Josh Harrison, Alex Avila and Jordy Mercer each had base hits also to finish off the offense for Washington as a team in the loss. Seven different pitchers saw the mound for the Nats in the loss, but it was Kyle Finnegan that was tabbed with the loss to fall to 2-1 on the year. Jon Lester will start here and is 0-2 with a 4.37 ERA and 25 strikeouts this season. In his career, Lester is 13-11 with a 4.47 ERA against Tampa Bay.

The Tampa Bay Rays will try to build on a 7-1 win over the Texas Rangers in their last game. Yandy Diaz led the way with a home run and three RBIs while Taylor Walls went 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs and Austin Meadows had a pair of base hits with two RBIs of his own to finish off the Rays’ scoring as a team in the winning effort. Manuel Margot, Randy Arozarena and Kevin Kiermaier each had base hits as well to finish off the offense for Tampa Bay in the victory. Michael Wacha saw the start and went 2.2 innings, but it was J.P. Feyereisen that ended up with the win in relief to improve to 2-0 on the year. Tyler Glasnow will start here and is 4-2 with a 2.69 ERA and 106 strikeouts this season. In his career, Glasnow is 1-0 with a 7.52 ERA and 16 strikeouts against Washington.

Washington is 2-5 in their last 7 games against a team with a winning record and 3-8 in their last 11 games overall while the under is 5-0 in their last 5 series-opening games. Tampa Bay is 7-1 in their last 8 games against a left-handed starter and 11-2 in their last 13 games against a team with a losing record while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 games against the NL East. Washington is 2-7 in the last 9 meetings between these two teams in Tampa Bay.

I get the case that could be made for the Nationals here, but realistically, the plus money is the only reason I’d consider the Nats and even then I’m still not off of the Rays here, Tampa Bay continues to mow teams down left and right and have Glasnow on the bump who has been a strikeout machine this season. Lester historically has had his issues on the road and I see that being no different here. Give me the Rays on the run line here.