Houston Astros vs Washington Nationals Prediction, 4/21/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Washington Nationals

Date: Sunday, April 21, 2024

Location: Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

TV: MASN

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (-188) Washington (+158)

The Houston Astros (6-14) are hitting the road to Nationals Park on Sunday where they will take on the Washington Nationals (8-10). The moneyline on this game has the Astros at -188 and the Nationals open at +158. The total comes in at 8.5. The pitchers taking the mound are Cristian Javier and Mitchell Parker.

Houston is slugging .428 and have been called out on strikes 134 times, while drawing a walk on 72 occasions. They have accumulated 84 runs batted in as well as 188 base knocks so far this year, while their batting average is .268. The Astros have compiled 40 two-baggers as a team and have hit 24 balls out of the stadium. They have earned 87 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .341. As a unit, the Houston Astros are putting up 4.4 runs per game, which ranks them 16th in the league.

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Their strikeout to walk ratio is 1.74 and their pitching staff sits with a WHIP of 1.51. Astros pitchers have conceded 17 long balls in addition to 110 total runs (29th in MLB). Houston has allowed 181 base hits (9.2 per 9 innings) as well as 103 earned runs. The Astros have compiled a team earned run average of 5.24 so far this year (29th in the league), and their staff has rung up 150 batters. Their pitching staff has walked 86 opposing batters and their FIP sits at 4.36 as a unit on the year.

The Astros relief pitchers have earned a save rate of 16.7% and has come into the game in 12 save situations. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 30 runners for the season and 26.7% of those players crossed the plate. Astros bullpen pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on 17 times in addition to having 17 appearances in high leverage situations. The Astros have sent 72 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year. The relievers have accumulated 6 holds so far this year (29th in baseball). They have recorded 1 save on the season and have blown 5 of 6 save opportunities.

The Houston Astros have notched a total of 531 putouts for the season, in addition to 172 assists and 11 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .985 which has them sitting 14th in professional baseball, and they have turned 20 double plays. The Astros have transformed 67.5% of balls hit into play into outs out of 1,593 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting 25th in the majors.

Javier has taken the ball for 489 frames and is sitting with 555 K's during his career. Javier (32-17 career mark) has a FIP of 4.11 and he has faced 2,005 opposing hitters in the major leagues. His ERA is 3.47 (189 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.115. He has conceded 350 base hits (6.4 hits per 9 innings) with 196 free passes.

The Washington Nationals have recorded an OBP of .308 in addition to a batting average of .231 so far this season. They have struck out on 148 instances (23rd in baseball) and have tallied 136 hits. Washington has hit 17 long balls for the season and 63 runs batted in. The Nationals hold a team SLG% of .376 and they score 3.67 runs per game (26th in MLB). They have 31 two-baggers, while walking 57 times as well as recording 66 runs.

The Nationals hold a team WHIP of 1.449 and have a FIP of 3.46 as a pitching staff this season. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 9.10 (159 strikeouts vs 65 free passes). They are currently ranked 25th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 164. They have allowed 12 dingers and they relinquish 4.56 runs per 9 innings (16th in the league). The Washington pitching staff have yielded 80 runs this season and come in with a team ERA of 4.39 (77 earned runs conceded).

Washington relievers have an inherited score percentage of 40.7% out of their 27 inherited runners. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the mound 23 times in high leverage situations and on 20 occasions with base runners. With 27 save situations, the Nationals have earned 17 holds in addition to 3 blown saves. They are currently ranked 10th in the league with a save percentage of 70.0%, and they have dispatched 65 relievers to the mound this year. Washington has called on relievers to enter the contest in 10 save chances and they have come away with 7 saves.

The Washington Nationals have gotten 17 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .991 (2nd in pro baseball). The Nationals have accrued 165 assists, 6 errors and are sitting with 474 putouts during this campaign. Out of their 1,422 innings on the diamond, the Nationals have accumulated a efficiency on defense of 65.0% (30th in pro baseball).

During his pro baseball career, Parker has surrendered 4 base hits and he has 4 strikeouts in 5 innings. He has surrendered a total of 2 ER's while earning a WHIP of 0.800 and being the owner of a FIP of 1.6. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 0.00 and he has gone up against 19 opposing hitters during his pro baseball career. Parker (1-0 mark in his career) has a 3.60 ERA and has given up 7.2 hits per nine innings.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston (-188)

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