Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals Betting Preview
Tuesday night will see the Washington Nationals continue their homestand at Nats Park against the Miami Marlins after securing a victory during Monday night’s baseball affair.
Can the Nationals keep the momentum going?
The Nationals, who went through a tough series against the San Diego Padres this past weekend both mentally and physically, started their series versus the Marlins with a bang last night.
This weekend saw the Padres win two of three games versus Nationals, one of which had to be delayed due to a scary incident for fans and players alike that happened just outside of the third base gates of Nats Park.
Saturday night, just around 9:30 PM, as the Nationals and Padres were switching roles during the middle of the 6th inning, gunshots were heard, sending security, workers, fans, and players into a frantic and worried state.
By instinct, the coaches and players went into survival mode, thinking the shots could have been inside the stadium.
Plenty of players from both teams had family in attendance for Saturday’s game, and those players all rushed to get their families to safety, helping fans in the process.
Once it was discovered that the shots took place outside the stadium, fans were advised to stay seated where they were, and if needed, they could exit out the stadium through the center field and right field gates.
The situation led to Saturday night’s game being postponed and finished in the afternoon yesterday, prior to the concluding third game of the series.
The Nationals would conclude the series with an 8-7 walk-off win from an Alcides Escobar single after dropping the first two by blowout scores of 24-8 and 10-4.
Last night, their bats continued to stay hot, leading to an absolute demolition of the Marlins by a score of 18-1. Jon Lester for the Nationals started and pitched seven scoreless innings while adding a two-run homer in the process. Juan Soto hit two home runs as well, making his home run total five in the last four games since the Home Run Derby.
Before last night’s game, the Nationals had scored 20 runs in their last three games, and with last night’s insane game from the plate, that total goes to 38 runs in four games.
If their All-Stars Trea Turner and Juan Soto can keep up this type of production, the Nationals have a chance at pushing the Mets, Phillies, and Braves in this tight NL East race.
Tuesday night will see the Washington Nationals continue their homestand at Nats Park against the Miami Marlins after securing a victory during Monday night’s baseball affair.Can the Marlins bounce back?
For the Marlins, their weekend was much less eventful, especially since they lost three of four games versus NL East rival the Philadelphia Phillies.
The four-game series occurred over two different sets of doubleheaders that took place on Friday and Sunday of this past weekend. If you exclude their single victory where they secured a 7-0 win off the backs of a great combined pitching game, they failed to score for most of that first series back from the All-Star break.
They scored eight total runs in the other three games, and against a Phillies team that can occasionally explode for offense, that was not enough.
In the first game of this series that took place Monday night, the Marlins could not have gotten off to a worse start. Starter Ross Detweiler gave up eight runs in the first inning, and the Nationals never looked back.
The Marlins would get a single run off of an 8th inning Miguel Rojas home run, and that would be it for the Marlins offense that recorded nine hits but never got enough momentum to get any of them across.
With that loss, and a record that has them sitting at a clear last in the NL East, the Marlins seem to be dead in the water.
Key Numbers
Luckily for the Marlins, they have a chance to bounce back in a big way with their young pitching All-Star Trevor Rogers on the mound. Rogers, the left-handed pitcher, has compiled a 7-6 record this season with a 2.31 ERA. He has also recorded 122 strikeouts, and a 1.066 WHIP in 101.1 total innings pitched.
For the Nationals, they will look to the services of the less experienced Paolo Espino. Espino has been solid for the Nationals, performing to the tune of a 2-2 record and an ERA sitting at 3.33.
The Marlins lacking offense has largely been carried by starting pitching this entire season. The team now holds the 20th best team batting average in the MLB with a .234 batting average, and they are also 28th in total runs scored. Leading the way for their offense are Adam Duvall and Starling Marte.
The bats have continued to heat up after this break for the Nationals, led by All-Star and Home Run Derby participant Juan Soto. They are now up to 16th in total runs scored, and their team batting average is 4th in the league at .259. With Juan Soto and Trea Turner locked in, watch out for this red-hot offense.
Prediction
With how the Nationals have been playing back home during their home series versus the Padres and in the first game of this series, it is hard to bet against them. Add on the fact that they bat great against lefties, it would make it seem like this is a tough game to win for the Marlins.
Their only hope is a great pitching game from Trevor Rogers, which very well could happen. However, Rogers has only lasted to the fifth and fourth innings in his last two games, which could open up some offensive opportunities for the Nationals against the bullpen of the Marlins.
The Marlins are sitting at the favorite on most books due to the pitching matchup, but don’t let it fool you. The Nationals are the better team up and down the lineup, and like mentioned, barring a great game from Rogers, the Marlins will not win this game.
Final Pick: Nationals ML (+105)
