Royals vs Nationals Prediction & MLB Odds For Thursday, September 26th
The forecast from Washington, DC on Thursday calls for light rain and 70-degree temperatures. The Nationals and Royals will square off at 1:05 PM ET at Nationals Park. Patrick Corbin is slated to start for the Nationals, and the over/under line is at 8.5 runs.
The Royals are currently on a two-game winning streak, and they are 84-74 overall. Michael Wacha will be on the mound for the Royals on Thursday. Kansas City is the heavy favorite on the money line, with their odds sitting at -174 compared to the Nationals at +145. The Nationals are 4th in the NL East, while the Royals are 2nd in the AL Central.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Royals -1.5 (-102) | Nationals 1.5 (-119)
- Total: 8.5
- MoneyLine: Royals -174 | Nationals +145
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Royals vs. Nationals Prediction: Moneyline
Thanks to a two-run sixth inning for the Royals’ offense, they picked up a 3-0 road win over the Nationals in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Royals were favored at -139 on the money line.
Kansas City got on the board with one run in the third and added two insurance runs in the 6th. As for the Nationals, they could only muster two hits and didn’t score a run in the game until the 9th inning.
Michael Lorenzen only went 2 1/3 innings for the Royals but didn’t give up a run and picked up the win. Lucas Erceg got the save. DJ Herz went five innings for the Nationals, giving up just one earned run.
The Royals are 84-74 overall, and they are 7.5 games behind the Guardians in the AL Central. Kansas City has gone 33-19 against other teams in the division. The Royals have won two straight games, and they are coming off a series loss vs. the Mariners.
At home, the Royals are 45-36 this season, and they are above .500 at 39-38 on the road. Kansas City has won two straight road games, and they are 19-9 as the road favorite this season. As the favorite overall, the Royals are 49-31.
Washington is 69-89 overall, and they are 24.5 games behind the Phillies for the NL East lead. The Nationals have lost three straight games, and this losing streak has them 4th in the NL East, seven games behind the Braves for the 3rd spot in the division. So far, they have gone 23-26 in divisional games.
At home, the Nationals are 36-41 this season, and they are 33-48 on the road. Washington has dropped two straight games as the home underdog, and they are 25-32 in this spot overall. The Nationals’ overall series record is 19-25-6, and they have dropped two straight series.
Royals vs. Nationals Prediction: Over/Under
The Kansas City Royals are on the road to face the Washington Nationals today, and the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs. The combined run average in Royals games this season is 8.6 runs per game, and their over/under record is 68-85. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, the Royals’ record is 17-27. Overall, 31% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 8.5 runs, and 41.1% have had lower lines. The under has hit in their last three games.
As a team, the Royals are batting .250 this season, which is 7th best in the league. They are also among the league leaders in home runs, and their 4.6 runs per game is 13th in the league. The Royals have been good at avoiding strikeouts this season, but they are near the bottom of the league in walks.
Bobby Witt Jr. has been one of the league’s top hitters this season, with a batting average of .333 to go along with 32 home runs and 108 RBIs. Over his last six games, he has gone 8/21. Salvador Perez is also having a strong season, with 27 homers and 103 RBIs, but he has hit just .208 over his last six games.
The Nationals have been trending toward the under, with their last five games all finishing below the over/under line. On the season, Washington has played to the under in 79 of their 152 games, with an average combined run total of 8.8. Their over/under record for the year is 73-79, and when the line is set at 8.5 runs, their record is 20-23.
Washington’s offense has been near the bottom of the league in terms of scoring this season, averaging just 4 runs per game. They are also one of the league’s worst home run hitting teams and come into the game with a team batting average of just .241. However, they have been good at avoiding strikeouts and are 15th in the league in batting average.
Joey Gallo has struggled of late for the Nationals, going just 4/19 in his last seven games. This stretch includes two home runs and six RBIs, but the team will need him to get his batting average up, as he is hitting just .211 for the season. CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. are the team’s top home run hitters, but both have been good at getting on base, as well.
Royals vs. Nationals Prediction: Spread
When betting on the Royals this season, the run line has been a good option, with an 86-72 record. They have been a better bet on the road, going 43-34 against the run line compared to 43-38 at home. As an underdog, they have been especially strong, going 46-32 against the run line. Their average run margin is +0.6 runs per game.
Right-hander Michael Wacha gets the start for the Royals today as he faces the Nationals on the road. Wacha has made 28 starts this season and has a record of 13-8 with a 3.29 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, Wacha has a WHIP of 1.19 and has allowed a total of 16 home runs. One thing to note is that he has made 14 appearances on the road and has a record of 6-5 with a 3.70 ERA. In his last outing, Wacha took the loss, giving up two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work. Before that, he had won two straight starts.
Washington has a run line record of 87-71 this season, including a mark of 41-36 at home. The Nationals have a run line record of 46-35 on the road, and their average run differential this season is -0.7 runs per game. They have been the underdog in 130 of their games this season, going 74-56 against the run line in those contests.
Left-hander Patrick Corbin gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Royals at home. Corbin has made 31 starts this season and has a record of 6-13 with a 5.58 ERA. In his last outing, he finished with a no-decision, giving up five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Before that, he had picked up the win in two straight starts. Corbin has a WHIP of 1.51 and has allowed a total of 24 home runs this season. Opposing batters are hitting .288 off Corbin this year.
Royals vs. Nationals Pick: Nationals ML +145
With the Nationals being the underdog at +145, we see this as a great opportunity to take advantage of the money line. Our predicted score is 5-4 in favor of the Nationals, and at +145, there is a good amount of value in this pick.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we do have Patrick Corbin finishing with fewer strikeouts than Michael Wacha, but Corbin is the better option to pick up a win. Corbin is projected to go 5 innings, and Wacha is projected to go just 3. As for the Royals, we have them finishing with just 9 hits compared to the Nationals with 9.
