Cincinnati Reds vs Washington Nationals MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 9/24/2021

The Washington Nationals and the Cincinnati Reds meet in MLB action from Great American Ballpark on Friday night.

The Washington Nationals come into this game looking to build off of their 3-2 win over the Reds from Thursday’s series opener. Juan Soto leads the Nationals statistically across the board, with 29 home runs, 92 RBIs, a .325 batting average, a .470 OBP and 154 hits this season with 29 doubles. Josh Bell also has 27 home runs for the Nationals this season but also currently leads Washington with 94 strikeouts this season. Paolo Espino will make the start in this one and is 5-5 with a 3.94 ERA and 90 strikeouts this season.

The Cincinnati Reds will be looking to rebound in a must-win scenario after their loss to the Nationals on Thursday. Nick Castellanos leads Cincinnati with a .307 batting average and 155 hits with a team-high 37 doubles while Joey Votto leads the Reds with 33 home runs and 92 RBIs this season. Jesse Winker also leads the Reds with a .394 OBP with 32 doubles on the year as well. Eugenio Suarez has 27 home runs and 71 RBIs but also leads Cincinnati with 163 strikeouts. Sonny Gray will start this one and is 7-8 with a 3.84 ERA and 146 strikeouts this season.

Washington is 18-40 in their last 58 games overall and 3-7 in their last 10 game two matchups while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 Friday games. Cincinnati is 6-2 in their last 8 games against the NL East and 3-7 in their last 10 games overall while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 Friday games.

The plus money with the Nationals was worth a look considering that Gray isn’t my favorite Reds pitcher to back, but the bottom line is that the Reds are the only team with something to play for in this game and the Nationals haven’t even resorted to playing the role of spoiler well. I see no other option than to side with the Reds in this game.