Philadelphia Phillies vs. Washington Nationals, 8/23/2018 Prediction & Preview
Despite a great pitcher’s duel lined up for Thursday afternoon in D.C., will the Nationals and Phillies play over the total at 1:05 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot & Odds
901 Philadelphia Phillies at 902 Washington Nationals
Thursday, August 23, 2018
1:05 p.m. ET, Nationals Park
TV: PHI (NBCSP); WSH (MASN)
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers, the Nationals are -158 favorites to beat the Phillies. As of this writing, 67% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Nationals to beat the Phillies on the moneyline.
Phillies’ Nola allows one run, strikes out 11 in win over Mets
Aaron Nola struck out 11 batters over seven innings of one-run ball in a 4-2 win over the Mets on Friday. It was his fifth double-digit strikeout game of the season. Nola allowed just three hits and one walk while hitting a batter, with the only run scoring on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. The Phillies’ ace has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in nine out of his last 10 starts. That gives him a 2.24 ERA and 160/44 K/BB ratio in 161 innings through 25 starts. Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer still have better ERAs, but Nola is a legitimate Cy Young Award candidate in his own right.
Nationals’ Scherzer pitches six scoreless innings vs. Marlins
Max Scherzer fired six scoreless frames in an 8-2 win over the Marlins on Friday. Scherzer is now tops in the majors with 16 wins. He gave up five hits — all of them singles — and walked just one batter while striking out seven. Scherzer also went 1-for-2 with a double and two runs scored, which brings his batting average to .296 for the year. He’s really doing it all. The Nats’ ace now holds a 2.11 ERA and 234/41 K/BB ratio in 174 2/3 innings through 26 starts this year. He’s building quite the case for this third straight National League Cy Young Award.
MLB Betting Trends
Philadelphia
The Phillies have won eight of Nola’s last nine starts when he pitches against the rest of the National League East.
Washington
The Nationals are 52-22 in Scherzer’s last 74 starts overall.
Prediction:
The over is a perfect 4-0 in Scherzer’s last four starts against the Phillies. The over is also 5-1 in the last six meetings between these two teams in D.C. and is 3-1-1 in Scherzer’s last five home starts versus the Phillies. On the other side, the over is 6-2 in the Phillies’ last eight games.
The Pick: Phillies/Nationals over 7
