There does appear to be a chance of light rain in St. Louis on Friday, where the forecasted temperature is 83 degrees. The Nationals and Cardinals are playing at Busch Stadium, and Washington is 47-56 compared to the Cardinals, who are 53-49.</
MacKenzie Gore is starting for the Nationals, while the Cardinals have Sonny Gray on the mound. St. Louis is favored on the money line, with the odds sitting at -167 compared to the Nationals at +141. The over/under line is currently 7.5 runs, and MASN will be televising this NL matchup.
Washington vs. St. Louis Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Nationals at Cardinals
- Where: Busch Stadium St. Louis
- Date: Friday, July 26th
- Betting Odds STL -167 | WSH +141 O/U 7.5
Nationals Preview
Washington closed out their series vs. the Padres with a 3-0 loss. This was especially tough, as they were the +134 underdog at home. The Nationals offense really struggled, as they only had four hits and didnjson't score a run. Washington's best chance to score came in the 3rd inning, but they left the bases loaded. The Nationals also wasted a good outing from starter Patrick Corbin, who took the loss, going seven innings and giving up just three runs on four hits.
Corbin was sharp early, giving up just three hits in the first three innings, but the Padres got to him for three runs in the 4th. He also issued three walks in the 4th and hit a batter. Washington's bullpen was able to keep the Nationals in the game, as they didn't give up a run after Corbin exited.
Washington has an overall series record of 13-18-2 and are 47-56 on the season. They have covered the run line in 30 of their 53 road games and are 57-46 overall vs. the run line. The O/U record for Nationals games this season is 49-50, and their games have averaged 8.7 runs per game.
Today, the Nationals are looking to end a three-game losing streak as they face the Cardinals. They are 17.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and have a 16-15 divisional record. Straight-up, Washington is 23-27 at home and 24-29 on the road. When favored, they have a 10-9 record, but as underdogs, they are 37-47.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Cardinals on the road. He has made 20 starts this season and has a record of 6-8 with an ERA of 4.20. Gore's WHIP for the season is 1.46, and he has turned in five quality starts. In his most recent outing, Gore finished with a no-decision, giving up three earned runs in two innings of work. Before that, he had gone three straight starts without taking the loss. Gore has allowed a total of seven homers this season and is averaging 10.55 strikeouts per nine innings.
Heading into today's game, the Nationals are 22nd in the league in scoring at 4.1 runs per game. They have been one of the worst home run hitting teams in the league this season and are also near the bottom of the league in team OPS and isolated power. As a team, they are batting .237, which is 15th in the league.
CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. are the Nationals' top home run hitters this season, with 15 and 11 homers, respectively. Abrams' 49 RBIs are the best mark on the team, and Garcia Jr. is right behind him at 45. Jesse Winker is also near the top of the team's home run and RBI leaderboards. Over his last 10 games, Juan Yepez has gone 14/36 with two homers and six RBIs.
Cardinals Preview
The Cardinals will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Pirates with a 5-0 loss. St. Louis was actually the slight favorite on the money line going into the game but fell behind big early, as the Pirates scored four times in the second.
Offensively, the Cardinals only had six hits but didn't score a run. Masyn Winn was the only Cardinals hitter to have more than one hit, going 2/4. The Cardinals also wasted a good outing from Matthew Liberatore, who took the loss, going three innings and giving up five earned runs.
St. Louis is six games behind the Brewers in the NL Central with a 53-49 overall record. They have a 16-16 record in divisional games and lost two of three in their most recent series vs. the Pirates.
Against the run line, the Cardinals have been a better play as underdogs, with a 33-17 record. Their overall run line record is 52-50, with an average run margin of -0.4 runs per game. This season, 75.5% of their games have had over/under lines higher than today's 7.5, and their over/under record is 47-52.
Sonny Gray will be looking to build off his last outing, where he picked up the win vs. the Braves. In that start, he went seven innings and gave up five earned runs. Looking back over his last four outings, Gray has allowed at least three earned runs in each. His ERA for the season is 3.54, along with a record of 10-6. Out of his 18 starts, Gray has turned in eight quality starts and is averaging 11.05 strikeouts per nine innings. For the year, he has allowed 12 homers. At home, Gray is 6-4 with a 2.29 ERA.
Heading into the game, the Cardinals are averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 23rd in the league. At home, they are averaging 4.2 runs per game. Overall, the Cardinals are batting .245, which is 11th in the league. Alec Burleson is batting .289 for the season and is 11th in the league with 18 home runs. Brendan Donovan is batting .266 and has gone deep nine times.
Burleson has been hot of late, going 7/21 in his last five games with a home run and six RBIs. Nolan Gorman has also homered in two of his last four games but is just 3/14 in that stretch. Gorman is batting just .207 for the season.
Nationals vs. Cardinals Prediction: Nationals ML +141
We see the Nationals pulling out a 5-4 road win over the Cardinals. So with the Nationals as the underdogs, we recommend taking them on the money line, where they are at +141.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have MacKenzie Gore finishing with six strikeouts, which is a little lower than Sonny Gray, who we have at 13th among starters with six strikeouts.
Offensively, we have the Nationals finishing with nine hits, compared to the Cardinals, who we have at nine as well. However, the Cardinals are projected to finish with fewer runs, as we have them at four, compared to the Nationals at five.
