Washington Nationals vs Philadelphia Phillies MLB Betting Preview– 8/29/18

MLB action within the National League East on Monday night and the Washington Nationals will grapple with the Philadelphia Phillies in the final game of a three-game series. This contest has a start time of 7:05 and will take place at Citizens Bank Park In Philadelphia. The Nats have taken the first two games of this series and they now lead the season series 8-7.  

Lines: Washington +110… Philadelphia -119… O/U 9.5

Pitching Matchup

Getting the nod for the Nationals will be Gio Gonzalez and he has gone 7-11 with a 4.35 ERA in 26 starts on the year, including 3-7 with a 4.35 ERA in 14 starts on the road. In his career, he has gone 62-55 with a 3.97 ERA in 161 games (156 starts) on the road and 23-34 with a 4.07 ERA in 60 starts in August. Gonzalez has gone 11-7 with a 2.69 ERA in 25 career starts against the Phillies, including 6-4 with a 2.78 ERA in 14 starts here at the Bank.

The Phillies will trot out Jake Arrieta and he has gone 9-9 with a 3.37 ERA in 25 starts on the year, including 4-3 with a 2.88 ERA in 12 starts here at home. In his career, he has gone 6-3 with a 2.47 ERA in 14 starts here at Citizens Bank Park and 17-11 with a 3.01 ERA in 34 starts during August. Arrieta has gone 1-2 with a 4.89 ERA in 11 career starts against the Nats.

Game Analysis

The Washington Nationals are trying to claw their way back into the playoff race in the National League. They have taken the first two games of this series, but they still remain 8.0 games out of first in the National League East and 6.0 games out of a wildcard slot. They have won their last three games in a row and have scored 25 runs in those games, after getting shut out in their previous three games. They still have a lot of work to do and they may be too far out to grab a spot this year, but it is a step in the right direction for them. The Nats did trail game two by a score of 4-2 heading to the 9th, but they scored three in that inning to go ahead for good. Anthony Rendon had the big hit with a two-run blast in the 9th. He now has 17 homers on the year. Max Scherzer got a no-decision after allowing three ERs on four hits and no walks in 5.0 innings of work. Grabbing the win was Koda Glover, who is now 1-2 with a 5.68 ERA on the year, while Greg Holland picked up his first save. Washington has gone 34-35 on the road and they have averaged 4.35 rpg and have allowed 3.75 rpg in those games.

Could the Philadelphia Phillies be running out of gas? They took a bad loss in game one and have now gone just 2-8 over their last 10 games. They are now at 4.5 games out first in the National League East and 2.5 games out of a wildcard slot. They had a great chance to win game two of this series as they had Aaron Nola on the mound and he pitched very well, but the pen let him down. Nola allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out eight in 7.0 innings of work. Pat Neshek took the loss in the game and is now 1-1 with a 1.56 ERA on the year. Odubel Herrera (21), and Jorge Alfaro (9) each went deep for the Phillies in the game. The Phillies have added another bad as they just signed Jose Bautista and he struck out in his lone at-bat for the Phillies on Tuesday. They keep adding offense, but maybe they should start adding pieces to their pen, which has not been great of late. That pen has a 6.25 ERA over its last 10 games. Ouch. The Phils need this game in the worst way and Gonzalez has really struggled for the Nats of late, but Arrieta has a 5.29 ERA over his last three starts. Philly is 41-24 here at home and have averaged 4.71 rpg and have allowed 4.25 rpg in those games.  

Trends

The Nationals are 5-1 in their last 6 vs. a team with a winning record… The Nats are 23-9 in Gonzalez’s last 32 Wednesday starts… Washington is 9-19 in their last 28 road games vs. a right-handed starter.   

The Phils have gone 15-3 in their last 18 games after losing the first 2 games of a series… The Phillies are 19-7 in their last 26 home games vs. a left-handed starter… Philadelphia has gone 1-6 in their last 7 vs. the National League East.