The Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins meet Saturday in MLB action from Marlins Park. This will be the second installment in a three-game series. In the Friday opener, the Nationals secured a three-run victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Washington Nationals
The Nationals took on the Yankees this week and did pretty well with two wins in three games. In Thursday’s 6-5 win, Washington’s Alex Call posted two RBI, two runs and a homer. On Friday versus Miami, Washington had 13 hits in a 7-4 victory. Joey Meneses posted three RBI and Carter Kieboom had two RBI with a homer in the win.
For the starter job in the Saturday game the Nationals will go with Jake Irvin. This year in 19 starts Irvin is 3-5 with a 4.47 ERA and 81 Ks in 96.2 innings. Irvin is 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA in his last seven starts total.
Washington Nationals Team Facts
- The Nationals have lost each of their last eight day games against NL East opponents following a win.
- The Nationals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last eight day games against NL East opponents following a win.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Nationals’ last three games.
- The Nationals have led after 7 innings in three of their last four games as underdogs against NL East opponents.
- The Nationals have led after 3 innings in three of their last four games as underdogs against National League opponents.
Washington Nationals Player Prop Facts
- Lane Thomas has hit a home run in two of the Nationals’ last three day games against NL opponents that held a winning record.
- Joey Meneses has recorded at least one RBI in four of his five previous road appearances against the Marlins.
- Lane Thomas has scored at least one run in each of the Nationals’ last eight Saturday games against opponents that held a winning record.
- Lane Thomas has recorded at least one hit in each of the Nationals’ last eight games against the Marlins.
- Lane Thomas has recorded at least one total base in each of the Nationals’ last eight games against the Marlins.
- CJ Abrams ranks 6th in the league in Steals (34) this season.
Miami Marlins
Over on the Marlins’ side, they played the Padres in their last series and lost two of three games. On Wednesday in a 4-0 shutout loss, Miami posted just four team hits. In the Friday game the Marlins could only score in the seventh inning. Jesus Sanchez bagged two RBI in the loss, and Bryan De La Cruz had a pair of hits.
Eury Perez will take the mound for the Marlins start Saturday. In his 14 starts so far Perez is 5-4 with a 2.91 ERA and 83 Ks in 68.0 innings. Perez is 1-3 with a 4.09 ERA over his last seven starts, striking out 47 in 33.0 innings.
Miami Marlins Team Facts
- The Marlins have lost five of their last six games as home favorites against National League opponents.
- The Marlins have failed to cover the run line in each of their last nine games as favorites against National League opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the last three day games between the Nationals and Marlins.
- The Marlins have trailed after 5 innings in four of their last five games as favorites.
Miami Marlins Player Prop Facts
- Josh Bell has hit a home run in each of his last two home appearances against the Nationals after playing the previous day.
- Bryan De La Cruz has recorded at least one RBI in seven of his last eight appearances against the Nationals after playing the previous day.
- Bryan De La Cruz has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Marlins’ last six home games against the Nationals.
- Jazz Chisholm has scored a run in each of his six previous Saturday day appearances against teams that held a losing record.
- Jazz Chisholm has recorded at least one hit in each of his last nine home appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
- Luis Arraez ranks 1st amongst qualified players for Batting Average (.354) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Miami Marlins ranks 28th in the league for home runs this season (123).
- The Miami Marlins ranks 28th in the league for walks this season (332).
- The Washington Nationals ranks 30th in the league for home runs allowed this season (197).
- The Washington Nationals ranks 29th in the league for home runs this season (119).
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably try the Nationals here. I like both starters to have good outings, though. Irvin has just two earned runs over his last two starts in 12.2 innings total. As for Perez, he’s coming off 6.0 clean innings versus the Dodgers with just two hits and zero walks. In the Friday opener of this set, Washington took a while to get going offensively but ended up posting a pretty solid evening at the plate overall. The Nationals have 13 runs in their last pair, and if they can keep it going Washington should be in good shape for another win in game two.
