The Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles are set to renew hostilities tonight in the first of their four-game Beltways Series.
Apart from local bragging rights, both teams, who are riding recent hot streaks, also have the added motivation to top their respective divisions in time for the looming All-Star Break.
The Battle of the Beltways is just one of a handful of great games for today, highlighted on our daily MLB Free Picks. Read on for more on this eagerly-anticipated East Coast rivalry.
[sc:MultiSportArticles ]Baltimore Orioles vs. Washington Nationals, Major League Baseball, Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Nationals Park, Washington
When: July 7, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Baltimore Orioles (+165) vs. Washington Nationals (-185); total 7.5 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles have flown to the top of the topsy-turvy AL East after a very good week which saw them register a win in every single day. The Orioles completed a four-game sweep of the Texas Rangers at home before taking two out of three against the Boston Red Sox to cap off a 6-1 record on the week.
[sc:Other240banner ]The MLB’s home run and RBI leader, Nelson Cruz, continues to lead an offense ranked 3rd in batting average. He added eight more hits in his last two games against the Red Sox, while fellow All-Star, centerfielder Adam Jones, has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games, with eight multi-hit games.
Chris Tillman (7-4, 4.21 ERA) gets the start for the Orioles tonight. He had his streak of going six-plus innings in four straight starts snapped when he went 5.2 innings and gave up three runs on seven hits against the Rangers last time out. The O’s have won in his last three starts.
Tillman will need to get a little deeper this time around to help out a bullpen that has been overworked in the last two games. The Orioles relievers needed to eat up 5.1 innings after Ubaldo Jimenez struggled to get out of the 4th inning on Saturday, and they worked 6.1 more innings in a 12-inning battle yesterday against the Red Sox.
There’s still another half of the MLB season left, so get to work on creating a betting account today.
Betting on the Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are still hot on the heels of the Atlanta Braves for top spot in the NL East. The Nats have won seven of their last eight games, although all came against the struggling Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies.
Despite Bryce Harper (4-for-18) struggling to rediscover his swing after returning from the disabled list last week, Jayson Werth has picked up the slack on offense. The veteran right-fielder is batting .643 with at least one RBI in every game this July. Leadoff men Denard Span and Anthony Rizzo have done their part by getting on base in just about every game this month.
Ace Stephen Strasburg, who takes the mound for the Nats, bounced back from his worst start of the season – he gave up seven earned runs in 4.2 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 25 – to shut down the Rockies in his last start. Strasburg went 7.2 innings and struck out eight.
But worryingly, he gave up another home run, the fifth in his last four starts. The over is 5-1-1 in Strasburg’s last seven starts.
Writer’s Prediction
Tillman is able to go over six innings, while Cruz and co. pounce on Strasburg’s tendency to surrender home runs. Take the Orioles (+165) over the Nats.
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