Washington Nationals vs. Baltimore Orioles Preview
Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD
When: Tuesday, May 9, 2017, 7:05 PM ET
Line: Washington Nationals (-155) at Baltimore Orioles (+140); total: 8.5 – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast: MASN, MASN2
Betting on the Washington Nationals (21-10)
The Washington Nationals were jumped early on by the Baltimore Orioles in Monday’s Beltway Series opener this Monday, eventually losing by a final score of 6-4. Gio Gonzalez, who entered the game with a league-best 1.64 ERA amongst all starters, surrendered three Baltimore home runs in just the first inning to hand him his first losing decision of the season.
On the bright side, the Nationals will have reigning NL Cy Young Award-winner Max Scherzer (4-2, 2.66 ERA) on the mound for Tuesday’s series finale. Scherzer masterfully blanked the O’s the last time he faced them in August of last year, pitching eight scoreless innings to go with 11 strikeouts.
Even more comforting news is the return of Bryce Harper. The star outfielder missed the last three games with a minor groin injury and he welcomed himself back into the lineup by hitting a solo homer in Monday’s contest. Harper has now reached home plate safely in each of his last five starts (eight runs in total).
Despite the loss, the Nationals still boast the best road record in the majors at 12-5. We should also be reminded that the Nats have the best team batting average for the season thus far (.285), as well as having put up the most hits (314) and runs (194), so they can certainly fight fire with fire against the Orioles’ own potent offense this Tuesday night.
Betting on the Baltimore Orioles (20-10)
Make that five-straight wins for the Baltimore Orioles, who now have the second-best record in the American League.
Baltimore’s three first-inning dingers we mentioned eariler came from Joey Rickard, Mark Trumbo and Trey Mancini. However, absent from this list is slugger Adam Jones, who went 0-for-4 on Monday to extend his homer-less streak to 13 games.
Perhaps Jones will knock one out of the park this Tuesday against Scherzer. He’s hitting .438 versus Washington’s top ace, having gone yard thrice through 16 plate appearances.
The O’s will need their offense to erupt again to complete the two-game sweep of the Nats, especially with Ubaldo Jimenez (1-1 6.58 ERA) penciled-in to start. Even though Jimenez has had a rough start to the season, he’s actually held his own relatively well against the Nationals. The Dominican righty has contained Washington hitters to a humble .252 batting average in 151 at-bats.
Jimenez should also like his chances at securing his first win since mid-April given how his team has dominated the Nationals of late. The Orioles have won seven of their last eight meetings against their cross-state rivals and five of their last seven head-to-head encounters in Camden Yards.
Writer’s Prediction
Baltimore (+140) prevails for its sixth-straight win, 5-3.
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