Where: Marlins Park
When: 1:10 EST
The Starters: Strasburg (9-4, 2.82) vs. Nolasco (8-6, 4.35)
The Line: Nats -120, Marlins 100, O/U 7.5 Runs, Nats -1.5
Starters – Stephen Strasburg takes the mound for the Nationals tonight in an attempt to hit double digit wins for the first time in his young career. Strasbeast has struggled a bit lately by his standards, with a 3.76 era in his last 10 starts, but with some extra rest and a big ballpark to pitch in, he should return to dominance tonight. The Marlins will counter with Ricky Nolasco, who like Strasburg is mired in a bit of a slump himself, with an era near 5 in his last 10. However, Ricky has been better his last 3 starts and I think he’ll be pretty solid tonight. Advantage Nationals
Lineups – The National’s lineup was arguably the hottest group in all of baseball going into the All-Star break. On the strength of their nearly two week offensive explosion, the Nat’s jumped from near the bottom of the league statistically to right near the middle of the pack in most categories. Their power numbers are among the NL’s best and an increased aggressiveness on the bases has pushed them to just outside the top 5 in steals. The Marlins offense has been inconsistant all year and now will have to produce without it’s best hitter by far in Giancarlo Stanton. The Marlins lead the league in steals but they are only in the NL’s top 10 in one other statistic (HR, 10th). It’s going to be a real struggle for them to score without Stanton’s big bat carrying the load. Advantage Nationals
Bullpens – I’m not going to waste too much time on this one. The Nationals bullpen is one of the best in baseball with a 3.13 era (4th in NL) and should get stronger with the return of Drew Storen soon. The Marlins bullpen is one of the worst in baseball with a 4.65 era (14th in NL) despite pitching home games in a great pitchers park. Also Heath Bell is their closer, yikes. Advantage Nationals
Game Summary – The Nationals bats get to Nolasco early and Strasburg never gives up the lead to clinch at least a series split.
Prediction: Nationals 4, Marlins 2
Key Players (Stat Prediction): Strasburg (6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 9 K, 0 BB), Desmond (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), Nolasco (6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 4 K, 2 BB), Ramirez (2-4, 2B, RBI)
Jesse’s Picks W/L: 48 – 37