Washington Nationals (13-18) vs. Cincinnati Reds (17-15)
May 2, 2025 6:10 pm EDT
The Line: Cincinnati Reds -164 / Washington Nationals +138; Over/Under: 8.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Washington Nationals and the Cincinnati Reds meet Friday in MLB action from Great American Ball Park. This will be the first installment in a three-game weekend series. Here’s a Reds vs Nationals prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Reds vs Nationals pick.
Washington Nationals Betting Preview
The Nationals lost their first couple of series this year, falling in two of three versus the Philadelphia Phillies and in a sweep versus the Toronto Blue Jays. Washington would get a couple of series wins over the Diamondbacks and Dodgers next, but then fell in two more series versus the Marlins and Pirates from there. Following a couple of set wins versus the Rockies and Orioles, the Nationals posted a split in four games against the New York Mets. On Tuesday in their opener versus the Phillies, Washington blew a late lead and ended up losing a tough one 7-6. In the Wednesday game two the Nationals were out-hit 10-5 in a 7-2 loss. Starter Jake Irvin had a rough outing on 6.0 innings, six earned runs, eight hits and three walks.
On Thursday in their series finale the Nationals took a 4-2 victory. Starter Brad Lord lasted 5.0 innings with two earned on six hits and a walk.
As starter for the Friday game, Washington is sending out Mitchell Parker. In his 2025 campaign so far Parker is 3-1 with a 2.65 ERA in six starts across 37.1 innings. In his career Parker is 10-11 with a 3.97 ERA in 35 starts total.
Cincinnati Reds Betting Preview
Over on the Reds’ side, they started off the 2025 campaign by falling in three straight series versus the San Francisco Giants, the Texas Rangers and the Milwaukee Brewers. Cincinnati finally would win a set in their rematch with the Giants then took a sweep over the Pirates. After falling in a series against the Mariners, the Reds beat the Orioles in a set then lost one versus the Marlins in two of three games. Cincinnati dispatched Rockies in a sweep last weekend, then beat the Cardinals on Monday. In Tuesday’s matchup the Reds got rained out, so that matchup was pushed to a doubleheader the next day. In those Wednesday games Cincinnati couldn’t get much accomplished on offense, falling in both matchups 6-0 and 9-1.
On Thursday versus St. Louis, the Reds managed a 9-1 win themselves to pull off a split in the series. Starter Andrew Abbott finished on 4.0 innings with one earned, three hits and four walks.
In the starting pitcher slot for the Reds on Friday it’ll be Hunter Greene. So far this year over six starts Greene is 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA over 36.2 innings total. In his career Greene is 21-27 with a 3.79 ERA in 78 starts overall.
Reds vs Nationals Prediction
I’ll stick with the Reds—so long as Greene can sharpen up his numbers a bit. On April 26 in Colorado Greene recorded a win, but the rare air up there caused him to surrender three earned on seven hits in 6.0 innings—not bad, but not spectacular. The start before that was even worse though, as Greene coughed up five earned on six hits and two walks in 3.0 innings during a loss in Baltimore. The good news however, is that Greene notched 7.0 clean frames in a win over the Pirates on April 13, and he’s more than capable of taming the Nats hitters here.
Cincinnati bounced back well from their two-game loss on Wednesday with a Thursday win, holding the Cardinals to just three hits in the process (all given up by Abbott). The bullpen was great in relief with 5.0 combined innings, no hits, no walks and six strikeouts between three arms. Another good performance behind Greene will result in another Reds victory—or set the stage for one at least.
