Washington Nationals vs Philadelphia Phillies Betting Preview 8/27/18
The Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies will battle it out tonight at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Nationals are trying to hang on to their slim playoff hopes, while the Phillies are trying to catch the Braves. The Phillies lead the season series 7-6. This is game one of a three-game series and has a start time of 7:00 pm.
Lines: Washington -113… Philadelphia +103… O/U 9
Pitching Matchup
Taking the hill for the Nationals will be Stephen Strasburg and he has gone 6-7 with 4.27 ERA in 15 starts on the year, including 4-2 with a 2.33 ERA in six starts on the road. In his career, he has gone 47-25 with a 3.24 ERA in 92 starts on the road and 14-8 with a 3.72 ERA in 32 starts during the month of August, while against the Phillies he has gone 10-2 with a 2.48 ERA in 22 starts, including 3-0 with a 1.45 ERA in eight starts here at Citizens Bank Park.
Getting the nod for the Phillies will be Zach Eflin and he has gone 9-4 with a 3.93 ERA in 18 starts on the year, including 6-1 with a 3.51 ERA in eight starts here at home. In his career, he has gone 7-6 with a 4.69 ERA in 17 starts here at Citizens Bank Park and 4-3 with a 4.09 ERA in nine starts during the month of August, while against the Nationals he has gone 1-0 with a 6.48 ERA in two starts.
Game Analysis
The Washington Nationals have really tanked it down the stretch. Here is a team that was picked by many to win the National League East and represent the national league in the World Series and yet they enter this game at one game under .500 and 8.5 games out of first in the division. They recently traded away Matt Adams, who had 18 homers and Daniel Murphy, who was hitting .300 for them and they promptly went out and got shut out in three games in a row. They finally got on the scoreboard yesterday against the Mets. The game was 1-0 as they headed to the 8th inning and the Nats scored 14 runs in the final two innings to grab a 15-0 win. Still, they are probably too far out of a playoff spot and will now look to play spoiler against the Phillies. It will not be easy as Stephen Strasburg has struggled of late going 0-2 with an 11.81 ERA in his last three starts.
The Philadelphia Phillies just had a bit of a rough series in Toronto as they lost two of the three games played. They were able to pick up a win in the finale and will be looking to build off of that win here at home. The Phillies really need to pick up some wins on this homestand as they are currently three games out of first in the National League East and two games out of a wildcard slot. The Phillies have struggled on the road, but they have been solid at here as they have gone 41-22 here at Citizens Bank Park for the year so far. That compares to a 29-38 mark on the road. This is a crucial stretch for the Phillies as 18 of their next 21 games are against the Mets, Marlins, and Nationals. Six of their games against the Nationals are here at home. The Phillies have a shot at putting together a nice run and get back in the race.
The Phillies need this game, they have played well at home and Strasburg has struggled of late, but we also note that Strasburg has great career numbers against the Phils. Something has to give here.
