Washington Nationals vs Boston Red Sox Prediction, 8/28/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Washington Nationals vs Boston Red Sox

Date: Friday, August 28, 2020

Location: Fenway Park in Boston, MA

TV: NESN/MAS2

Odds/Point Spread: Nationals (-175) Red Sox (+161)

Fenway Park is the site where Rafael Devers and the Boston Red Sox (10-21, 5th in AL East) will take on the Washington Nationals (11-17, 5th in NL East) on Friday. The Red Sox open this contest at +161 while the Nationals are priced at -175. The over/under has been set at 7.5. The expected starting pitchers are Anibal Sanchez and Martin Perez.

Key Washington Nationals Injuries

8/24/2020 Seth Romero RP Hand Out for the season
8/22/2020 Stephen Strasburg SP Hand Out for the season
8/18/2020 Sam Freeman RP Elbow Out for the season
8/18/2020 Starlin Castro 2B Wrist Out for the season
8/13/2020 Roenis Elias RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
6/29/2020 Adrian Sanchez 3B Achilles Out for the season

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

8/25/2020 Andrew Benintendi LF Ribs Expected to be out until at least Sep 5
8/25/2020 Nathan Eovaldi SP Calf Expected to be out until at least Aug 29
8/1/2020 Eduardo Rodriguez SP Illness Out for the season
7/7/2020 Dustin Pedroia 2B Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
6/28/2020 Chris Sale SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Nationals have a 11-17 overall record this season. Sanchez (109-111 win-loss mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 4.01 and he has gone up against 8,187 batters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 4.01 (856 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.309. He has allowed 1,869 hits (8.8 hits per 9 innings) and has had 644 walks. Sanchez has thrown 1,920 innings and has accounted for 1,702 strikeouts during his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.39 and they have given up 105 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .221 against the bullpen and they've struck out 111 hitters and walked 50 batters. As a team, Washington allows 9.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They are 21st in the league in team earned run average at 4.97. The Nationals pitchers collectively have given up 265 base hits and 133 earned runs. They have allowed 40 home runs this season, ranking them 12th in the league. Washington as a pitching staff has walked 96 batters and struck out 231. They have walked 3.6 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.6 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.50 and their FIP as a unit is 4.71.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Washington is hitting .261, good for 4th in the league. The Nationals hold a .433 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .328, which is good for 10th in baseball. They rank 9th in MLB with 8.6 hits per game. Asdrubal Cabrera is hitting .260 with an on-base percentage of .333. He has 25 hits this season in 96 at bats with 17 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .490 and an OPS+ of 117. Juan Soto is hitting .380 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .476. He has totaled 27 hits and he has driven in 18 men in 71 at bats. His OPS+ is 234 while his slugging percentage is at .803. The Nationals have 241 hits, including 44 doubles and 35 home runs. Washington has walked 83 times so far this season and they have struck out 208 times as a unit. They have left 180 men on base and have a team OPS of .761. They score 4.68 runs per contest and have scored a total of 131 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Boston has a 10-21 overall mark this year. Perez (55-59 career record) has earned a 4.68 ERA while giving up 10.0 hits per nine innings. His SO/W ratio is 1.76 and he has gone up against 4,180 opposing hitters during his career. So far in his MLB career, Perez has surrendered 1,062 hits while earning 620 strikeouts in 958 frames. He has surrendered a total of 498 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.476 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.5. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.73 and they have given up 160 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .242 against the Red Sox bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 161 batters and walked 64 opposing hitters. As a team, Boston allows 10.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.9 batters per nine innings. They are 30th in the league in team earned run average at 6.05. The Red Sox pitchers as a team have surrendered 304 base knocks and 181 earned runs this season. They have given up 52 home runs this year, which ranks 2nd in Major League Baseball. Boston as a staff has walked 130 hitters and struck out 266 batters. They give up a walk 4.3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.61 while their FIP as a staff is 5.31.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .251, good for 10th in the league. The Red Sox hold a .422 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .318, which is good for 21st in baseball. They rank 7th in MLB with 8.6 hits per contest. Rafael Devers comes into this matchup batting .222 with an OBP of .272. He has 26 hits this year along with 15 RBI in 117 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .402 with an OPS+ of 77. Alex Verdugo is hitting .291 this season and he has an OBP of .360. He has collected 30 hits in 103 at bats while driving in 12 runs. He has an OPS+ of 131 and a slugging percentage of .515. The Red Sox as a unit have 268 base hits, including 61 doubles and 37 homers. Boston has walked 94 times this year and they have struck out on 275 occasions. They have had 205 men left on base and have an OPS of .740. They have scored 4.61 runs per game and totaled 143 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Nationals/Red Sox MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Red Sox (+161)

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