Boston Red Sox vs Washington Nationals Prediction, 8/16/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Boston Red Sox vs Washington Nationals

Date: Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Location: Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

TV: MASN

Odds/Point Spread: Boston (-166) Washington (+140)

The Washington Nationals (53-66) are welcoming the Boston Red Sox (62-56) at Nationals Park on Wednesday. The moneyline on this contest has Boston at -166 while Washington is coming in at +140. The total comes in at 9. The pitchers taking the mound will be James Paxton and MacKenzie Gore.

Boston owns a slugging percentage of .432 and have been called out on strikes 958 times, while being walked on 358 occasions. They have accounted for 547 RBI's and 1,054 hits on the season, while their batting average is .262. The Red Sox have accumulated 258 doubles as a team and have hit 132 baseballs out of the park. They have tallied 571 runs while holding a team OBP of .328. As a unit, the Boston Red Sox are knocking in 4.8 runs per outing, which has them sitting at 8th in baseball.

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Their K/BB ratio is 3.03 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.31. Red Sox pitchers have yielded 154 home runs in addition to 542 total runs (18th in MLB). Boston has surrendered 1,028 hits (8.9 per 9 innings) and 501 earned runs. The Red Sox have an earned run average of 4.32 this year (18th in baseball), and their staff has rung up 1,020 hitters. They have walked 337 players from the other team and their FIP comes in at 4.37 as a team on the season.

Red Sox relief pitchers have entered the contest with players on base 83 times as well as having 103 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen have notched 56 holds so far this season (23rd in MLB). The Red Sox relief pitchers have a save percentage of 77.8% and has come into the game in 101 save situations. They have recorded 35 saves this season and have blown 10 of their 45 save opportunities. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 125 runners so far this season and 28.8% of them earned a run for their team. The Red Sox have dispatched 371 relief pitchers to the hill on the season.

The Red Sox have converted 67.9% of balls hit into play into outs out of 9,387 innings on the diamond, which ranks them 27th in the majors. The Boston Red Sox have 3,129 putouts thus far, as well as 1,051 assists and 82 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .981 which is 30th in pro baseball, and have a total of 107 double plays.

Paxton has taken the mound for 835 innings and has totaled 921 K's during his pro baseball career. Paxton (64-36 career mark) has a FIP of 3.36 and he has gone up against 3,459 hitters in the majors. His earned run average is 3.57 (331 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.206. He has surrendered 754 base hits (8.1 hits per nine innings) and has had 253 free passes.

The Nationals have a team slugging % of .401 and they earn 4.34 runs per outing (19th in the league). They have hit 210 doubles, while taking a walk 313 times as well as scoring 517 runs. Washington has knocked in 108 home runs this year to go along with 489 RBIs. They have struck out on 849 instances (29th in the league) and have recorded 1,056 base hits. The Washington Nationals have accounted for a team on-base percentage of .320 and a batting average of .260 on the campaign.

The Nationals are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.456 and are the owners of a FIP of 5.11 as a team for the year. They are currently ranked 28th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 1,092. The Washington pitching staff have relinquished 606 runs on the campaign while holding an ERA of 4.88 (568 earned runs yielded). Their K/BB ratio is 7.70 (895 strikeouts vs 433 free passes). They have allowed 176 homers and they give up 5.21 runs per 9 innings (27th in baseball).

Washington has called on relief pitchers to step onto the hill in 52 save chances and they have tallied 31 saves. They sit at 20th in the league with a save rate of 59.6%, and they have dispatched 373 bullpen pitchers to the hill this season. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the mound 118 times in high leverage situations in addition to 110 occasions with base runners. Washington relievers have an inherited score percentage of 32.8% out of their 177 inherited base runners. Sitting with 109 save situations, the Nationals have tallied 57 holds and 21 blown saves.

The Washington Nationals have gotten 113 double plays and have a fielding rate of .985 (22nd in baseball). The Nationals have accrued 1,090 assists, 66 errors and have notched a total of 3,142 putouts on the campaign. Out of their 9,426 innings on the diamond, the Nationals have earned a defensive efficiency of 68.5% (22nd in baseball).

Thus far in his career, Gore has allowed 183 base hits while he has tallied 206 punch outs in 187 innings pitched. He has given up a total of 95 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.444 and a FIP of 4.4. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.37 and he has gone up against 810 batters in his career. Gore (10-13 career mark) has earned a 4.57 ERA and has given up 8.8 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Washington (+140)

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