The Toronto Blue Jays and the Washington Nationals meet Friday in MLB action from Nationals Park. Here’s a Washington Nationals vs Toronto Blue Jays prediction. This will be the first installment in a three-game series. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for the game.
Toronto Blue Jays Betting Preview
The Blue Jays took on the Kansas City Royals in their last series. Toronto won Monday’s matchup 6-5 but then took losses 4-1 and 6-1 in the remaining two games. On Wednesday, Toronto got a lone RBI from Danny Jansen via a solo homer. The Jays only had three hits otherwise. Chris Bassitt put up 6.0 innings and three earned runs in the start.
In the starter role for the Friday opener the Blue Jays will send out Yusei Kikuchi. This year in six starts Kikuchi is 2-2 with a 2.94 ERA and 36 Ks in 33.2 innings. Kikuchi is 34-39 with a 4.62 ERA in 140 career games (128 starts).
Washington Nationals Betting Preview
Over on the Washington side, they just finished a set versus the Texas Rangers. After a 7-1 loss Tuesday and a 1-0 win in game two, in the Thursday rubber match the Nationals took a 6-0 shutout loss. Starter Mitchell Parker finished with 5.1 innings, three earned runs, six hits, two walks and five strikeouts.
As starting pitcher for the Friday game, the Nationals are going with Patrick Corbin. This year Corbin is 0-3 with a 6.82 ERA over six starts. He’s got 22 Ks in 31.2 total innings. Corbin has a career record of 97-121 with a 4.45 ERA in 316 games (298 starts). The Nationals will take on the Orioles following this series.
Blue Jays vs Nationals Injury Notes
Blue Jays 1B Joey Votto (ankle) still doesn’t have a timetable for when he will play in games. Votto has reportedly been hitting, however.
Washington Nationals Team Facts
- The underdogs have won seven of the last eight games between the Blue Jays and Nationals at Nationals Park.
- The Nationals have covered the run line each of their last six games against teams that held a losing record.
- The Nationals have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five night games against American League opponents that held a losing record.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the last three night games between the Blue Jays and Nationals at Nationals Park.
- The Nationals have led after 3 innings in three of their last four games as underdogs against American League opponents.
Toronto Blue Jays Team Facts
- The underdogs have won seven of the Blue Jays’ last eight games at Nationals Park.
- The Blue Jays have failed to cover the run line in eight of their last nine games.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Blue Jays’ last five night games against National League opponents.
- The Blue Jays have trailed after 3 innings in five of their last seven games as road favorites against NL East opponents.
- The Blue Jays have trailed after 5 innings in five of their last seven games as road favorites against NL East opponents.
Washington Nationals vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction
I’ll probably stick with the Jays here. Kikuchi is going to need a bounce-back start, though. In his last outing versus the Dodgers, Kikuchi put up four earned on nine hits in 6.0 innings during a loss. Kikuchi had previously won consecutive games though, posting three earned through 12.0 innings total.
As for the Nationals, on Thursday they couldn’t get anything going on four team hits. The bullpen was uneven, with most of the damage going versus Matt Barnes (1.0 innings; three earned). Corbin has been pretty erratic himself, posting nine earned in 10.1 innings in two of his last three starts. (Corbin had 5.1 clean frames for a no-decision against the Dodgers in the outlier.) Toronto should have a few early opportunities at the plate.