The Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals clash Saturday in game 2 of an MLB series at Nationals Park. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
Oakland Athletics Betting Preview
The Athletics need a win after losing 7 of their last 10 games. The Athletics have the worst record in baseball at 33-83. The Athletics pitching staff is 30th in ERA (5.80), 30th in WHIP (1.53) and 30th in quality starts (22). The Athletics offense is 30th in runs per game (3.54), 30th in batting average (.222) and 26th in homers (111). Esteury Ruiz leads the Athletics with 89 hits and 35 RBI, while Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers have combined for 142 hits and 86 RBI. Luis Medina gets the ball, and he is 3-8 with a 5.47 ERA and 79 strikeouts this season. This will be Medina’s first career game against the Nationals.
Oakland Athletics Team Facts
- The Athletics have lost each of their last eight games against NL East opponents.
- The Athletics have covered the run line each of their last 10 Saturday night games against teams that held a losing record.
- The Athletics have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five road games.
- The Athletics have won the first inning in each of their last four night games against National League opponents that held a losing record.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Athletics’ last three night games against NL East opponents.
Oakland Athletics Player Prop Facts
- Seth Brown has hit a home run in three of his last eight road appearances after playing the previous day.
- Shea Langeliers has recorded two or more total bases in each of his last four appearances in night games against teams that held a losing record.
- Shea Langeliers has scored at least one run in three of his last four appearances in night games against teams that held a losing record.
- Seth Brown has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last six Saturday appearances.
- Shea Langeliers has recorded at least one hit in each of his last six appearances in night games against teams that held a losing record.
- Esteury Ruiz ranks 2nd in the league in Steals (46) this season.
Washington Nationals Betting Preview
The Nationals look for another win after winning 6 of their last 9 games. The Nationals are still 9.5 games back in the NL wild card race. The Nationals pitching staff is 27th in ERA (4.89), 28th in WHIP (1.46) and 23rd in quality starts (34). The Nationals’ offense is 20th in runs per game (4.32), 6th in batting average (.258) and 29th in homers (107). Lane Thomas leads the Nationals with 131 hits and 67 RBI, while Joey Meneses and Dominic Smith have combined for 229 hits and 93 RBI. Jake Irvin gets the ball, and he is 3-5 with a 4.93 ERA and 68 strikeouts this season. This will be Irvin’s first career game against the Athletics.
Washington Nationals Team Facts
- The Nationals have lost each of their last seven night games against American League opponents following a win.
- The Nationals have covered the run line eight of their last nine games against American League opponents that held a losing record.
- The Nationals have lost the first inning in each of their last five Saturday games as favorites against American League opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Nationals’ last eight games as home favorites against American League opponents.
- The Nationals have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last five Saturday night games as favorites.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Washington Nationals ranks 30th in the league for home runs allowed this season (171).
- The Washington Nationals ranks 29th in the league for home runs this season (107).
- The Oakland Athletics ranks 30th in the league for runs scored this season (411).
- The Oakland Athletics ranks 30th in the league for hits this season (842).
Randy’s Pick
As Ive said time and time again this season, backing the Athletics isn’t an option for me. The A’s are not only the worst team in baseball, but they’re the worst team to back for bettors. In what world am I going to get behind this club, especially when the price is cheap. The Nationals aren’t great in their own right, but they’ve actually been decent in the second half of the season. In fact, 29.4 percent of the Nationals wins this season have come in the second half. Yeah, I’m not backing the Athletics. Give me the home team.
