Anyone who likes to wager on baseball is always looking for an edge, so Doc's Sports has decided to release free MLB picks each week for the Washington Nationals during the entire MLB regular season as part of a betting strategy that relies on specialization. When you concentrate your handicapping efforts on a single team, you end up building familiarity, which in turn makes that team all the more predictable. My goal with these free picks is to earn a long-term profit using this betting strategy with the Washington Nationals.

In conjunction with these free picks, I will be utilizing Doc's Unit Betting System as part of aproper money management plan for wagering on sports. Doc's will publish these free picks once or twice a week, so be sure to take advantage of this specialized betting approach by checking our homepage daily to follow along with my progress.

Washington Nationals Free Picks, Odds and Predictions

Friday, May 30, 7:05 p.m. EST (Nationals Park)

Texas at Washington MLB Free Picks, Odds and Predictions

The Washington Nationals continue an extended nine-game homestand with a three-game interleague matchup against the Texas Rangers starting with Game 1 this Friday night in a 7:05 p.m. start.

Texas has been able to string together four wins in its last five games heading into Thursday afternoon's series finale against Minnesota. It is now one game over .500 at 27-26 and five games in back of Oakland in the AL West Division race. The Rangers 14-13 in 27 road games this season, and the total has stayed "under" in two of the first three games against the Twins.

The Nationals' homestand has not gotten off to a good start, with two losses to Miami wrapped around a rain-out on Tuesday night. This followed a 1-3 slide against Pittsburgh this past weekend on the road. They are now two games below .500 at 25-27 with an even 14-14 mark at home. The total has stayed under in four of their last seven games.

Texas at Washington Betting Storylines

The Rangers have been known for their power at the plate in recent years, and while they have the second-best team batting average in the American League at .267, they have not been able to use this production to get runners consistently across the plate. It does not help that their current disabled list reads like a roster card. Texas is tied for six in the AL in total runs with 227 through its first 53 games. Alex Rios leads the team RBIs with 29, and Adrian Beltre has knocked in 20 runs while hitting five home runs.

Look for Colby Lewis to get the start for Texas in Friday's series opener. The right-hander earned his fourth win of the season by allowing just two runs in 5 2/3 innings against Detroit this past Sunday. He is now 4-3 in eight starts this season with a 5.10 ERA and a WHIP of 1.75. This will be his first career start against the Nationals, but he is 8-4 with a 3.22 ERA in interleague play.

Washington is still searching for consistency in almost every phase of the game a quarter of the way into this season. The overall pitching staff is ranked fourth in the National League with an ERA of 3.30, but the starting rotation has had its issues. Injuries have put a dent into the Nationals' lineup, with Ryan Zimmerman and Bryce Harper battling serious injuries, but give credit to players such as Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon filling the void. Desmond has 29 RBIs and nine home runs, and Rendon is a close second with 26 RBIs and five homers.

Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to take the mound for Washington on Friday night. The right-hander went a full seven innings his last time out and held Pittsburgh to three runs on seven hits, but he still got tagged with the loss to fall to 3-4 in 11 starts. Strasburg has not allowed more than three earned runs in his last seven starts, and his overall ERA on the year is 3.42.

Texas at Washington MLB Betting Odds and Key Trends

BetOnline has opened the Nationals as -190 home favorites in this interleague series opener, with the total set at 7.0.

The Rangers are 4-1 in their last five road games but just 3-7 in their last 10 interleague games. The total has gone over in six of their last eight games against the NL East.

The Nationals are 11-4 in their last 15 interleague games, but they are just 3-8 in their last 11 games against the AL West. The total has gone over in eight of their last 12 interleague games.

These two last met in 2008, with Texas taking two of three on the road. Washington has the slight 5-4 edge in the last nine games between the two. The total has stayed under in three of the last four meetings.

Texas at Washington Free MLB Picks and Betting Predictions

Washington's current form does not instill a world of confidence in its ability to take this series opener against a Texas team that is finally starting to find its form. While you never like to bet against the Nationals with Strasburg on the mound, the +180 money line on the Rangers is just too hard to resist on a small 2-Unit play.

Year-to-Date Betting Record: 5-4 (+$414)

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