Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals Prediction, Pick and Preview, August 9 (8/9): MLB

Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals Prediction, Pick and Preview, August 9 (8/9): MLB

Credit: photo by  David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

 

Odds

Time 8:05 p.m. EST
Nationals money line +160
Nationals run line +1.5 (-125)
Cubs money line -195
Cubs run line -1.5 (+105)
Over / under 8

 

Key stats

  Washington Nationals  Chicago Cubs
Record 36-75 44-64
Road / home record 19-35 23-33
Last 10 record 2-8 4-6
Streak L6 W1
Over / under record 55-49-7 46-55-7
Runs / game 3.83 4.14
Runs allowed / game 5.51 4.87

 

Preview

The Chicago Cubs and the Washington Nationals will play the 2nd game of the series at the Wrigley Field on Tuesday. The Cubs took the win 6-3 in the first game of the series.  Keegan Thompson pitched six effective innings, rookies Nelson Velázquez and Christopher Morel homered in the third inning to help the Cubs to win the game.

Washington Nationals

The Nationals get here with a 36-75 record and have lost their last 6 games. The team is averaging 3.83 runs per game. They're batting for .247 AVG, 418 runs scored in 907 hits and 86 home runs, ranking #27 in offense in the league, behind the Kansas City Royals. Luke Voit has a batting average of .235, 14 home runs and 50 RBI. 

Defensively they are allowing 5.51 runs per game and ranking #30, the worst in the league. Josiah Gray leads the team with a 4.92 ERA, 122 strikeouts and 7 wins recorded for the Nationals.

Probable Pitcher:  Paolo Espino (0-4, 4.20 ERA)

Espino will be on the mound in the 2nd game of the series for Washington. Espino allowed five earned runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out three across four innings to take the loss Thursday against the Phillies. He has a record of 1-0 with an ERA of 3.48 and 10 strikeouts in 3 appearances against the Cubs in his career.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs get here with a 44-64 record and have won 3 of their last 4 games. The team is averaging 4.14 runs per game. They're batting for .241 AVG, 439 runs scored in 870 hits and 104 home runs, ranking #21 in offense in the league behind the Baltimore Orioles. Patrick Wisdom is leading the team with 20 home runs and 52 RBI while Nico Hoerner has the better batting average with .295.

Defensively they are allowing 4.87 runs per game and rank #25 in the league. Keegan Thompson leads the pitching staff with a 3.48 ERA, 83 strikeouts and 8 wins recorded for the Cubs.

Probable Pitcher:  Marcus Stroman (3-5, 4.00 ERA)

Stroman will be on the mound in the 1st game of the series for the Cubs. Stroman allowed three runs on five hits across 6.2 innings and did not factor into the decision in Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Cardinals. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. He has a 1-1 record with an ERA of 4.78 and 28 strikeouts in 5 appearances versus the Nationals in his career.

BETTING TRENDS

Washington are 1-8 SU in their last 9 games against an opponent in the National League.

The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Washington's last 7 games against an opponent in the National League Central Division division.

The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Chi Cubs' last 7 games at home.

The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Chi Cubs' last 14 games against an opponent in the National League.

Prediction

The Nationals have lost 6 games in a row and will most likely continue to do. Paolo Espino will be the starter for this game who has been pounded in his last 2 starts and the Nats have lost in 7 of his 10 starts this season. The Cubs offense woke up and scored 6 runs to win the first game of the series. Marcus Stroman who has been good in his last 5 starts allowing 5 runs across 27 innings pitched, will take the mound for the Cubs. Expect the Nationals to continue struggling offensively so the play for this game is the Cubs run line.

PICK: Cubs -1.5 (+105)

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