Washington Nationals vs Houston Astros Prediction, 6/15/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington Nationals vs Houston Astros

Date: Thursday, June 15, 2023

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest

Odds/Point Spread: Washington (+180) Houston (-210)

The Houston Astros (38-29) will compete against the Washington Nationals (26-39) at Minute Maid Park on Thursday. The odds on this game have the Nationals at +180 while the Astros are at -210. The over/under comes in at 9. The pitchers who are expected to start will be MacKenzie Gore and Cristian Javier.

Washington has a slugging rate of .388 and have been called out on strikes 451 times, while drawing a walk on 176 occasions. They have accounted for 261 runs batted in and 578 hits on the year, and their average at the plate is .261. The Nationals have earned 105 doubles as a team and have hit 51 balls out of the park. They have earned 273 runs scored while having a team on-base percentage of .323. As a team, the Washington Nationals are earning 4.2 runs per contest, which ranks them 23rd in MLB.

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The Nationals hold a team ERA of 4.68 this season (25th in the league), and they have rung up 479 hitters. Nationals pitchers have surrendered 90 home runs and also 323 total runs (24th in baseball). They have walked 249 opposing batters and their FIP sits at 5.06 as a squad on the year. Washington has given up 589 hits (9.3 per 9 innings) and 296 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 1.92 and their pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.47.

The Nationals relief pitchers have a save percentage of 53.1% and has come into the game in 65 save situations. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 95 runners so far this year and 36.8% of those players ended up scoring. Nationals bullpen pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on 56 times and also have had 62 appearances in high leverage situations. The Nationals have dispatched 200 relievers to the hill so far this year. The relief pitchers have notched 33 holds so far this season (24th in the league). They have tallied 17 saves for the year and have missed out on 15 out of their 32 save opportunities.

The Nationals have turned 68.5% of balls hit into play into outs out of 5,118 innings, ranking them 19th in MLB. The Washington Nationals are sitting with 1,706 putouts thus far, in addition to 614 assists and 42 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .982 which has them sitting 27th in baseball, and have accumulated 59 double plays.

Gore has taken the hill for 139 innings and has earned 155 strikeouts thus far in his career. His ERA is 4.27 (66 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.432. He has surrendered 133 base hits (8.6 hits per 9 innings) and has had 66 walks. Gore (7-9 career win-loss mark) holds a FIP of 4.16 while he has gone up against 603 opposing hitters in the majors.

Houston has tallied 76 home runs for the season to go along with 291 runs batted in. They have 112 doubles, while taking a walk 208 times as well as putting up 304 runs. The Houston Astros have recorded a team on-base percentage of .316 in addition to a team batting average of .246 on the campaign. The Astros hold a team SLG% of .401 and they average 4.54 runs per contest (14th in MLB). They have been rung up on 548 occasions (22nd in baseball) and have notched a total of 556 base hits.

The Houston pitching staff have allowed 244 runs so far this season and come in with a team ERA of 3.28 (218 earned runs relinquished). They have conceded 69 home runs and they concede 3.67 runs per 9 innings (1st in baseball). The Astros are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.242 and have a FIP of 3.84 as a unit so far this year. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 9.50 (629 strikeouts vs 206 walks). They come in at 9th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 537.

Sitting with 60 save situations, the Astros have tallied 34 holds in addition to 8 blown saves. Houston has called on relief pitchers to enter the game in 25 save opportunities and they have walked away with 17 saves. Their relief pitchers have taken the field 54 times in high leverage situations in addition to 34 occasions with runners on base. Houston relievers have an inherited score rate of 29.1% of 55 inherited base runners. They are ranked 11th in baseball holding a save rate of 68.0%, and they have dispatched 204 relievers onto the field over the course of the season.

Out of their 5,382 innings on the field, the Astros are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 68.9% (18th in the majors). The Houston Astros have gotten 65 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .989 (4th in MLB). The Astros have recorded 575 assists, 27 errors and have accounted for 1,794 putouts on the campaign.

Thus far in his career, Javier has conceded 252 base knocks while he has totaled 452 punch outs in 379 innings pitched. Javier (27-13 mark in his career) has a 3.06 earned run average and has surrendered 6.0 hits per 9 innings. He has given up a total of 129 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.040 and a FIP of 3.9. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.18 and he has gone up against 1,521 hitters thus far in his career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston (-210)

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