The Washington Nationals’ hype train has slowed quite considerably, in large part due to the team’s disappointing first week of the season. They haven’t been able to produce without some key absentees, while their other established stars have been underperforming.
But the Nats find a way to win when Jordan Zimmerman takes the mound. Can they do so again as they visit Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox’s high-powered offense? Read on for our preview of this interleague battle between the AL and NL favorites.
The undefeated Detroit Tigers are also busy with interleague action today. Check out our preview of the Tigers vs. Pirates.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Washington Nationals vs. Boston Red Sox Preview
Where: Fenway Park, Boston
When: Monday, April 13, 3:05 PM ET
Line: Washington Nationals +106 at Boston Red Sox -116; total 8.0 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Washington Nationals
The World Series-favorite Washington Nationals have gotten out of the gate very slowly this season. The defending NL East champions have gone just 2-4 in their first six games after dropping two out of three in their opening two series against the Mets and Phillies.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Scoring runs has been an obvious problem for a Nats lineup missing a bunch of key personnel – Denard Span, Jayson Werth, Anthony Rendon – in the early part of the season. They’ve crossed home plate just 13 (tied for the worst mark in the early season) times in their first six games, with Ian Desmond (.136/.208/.227) and Ryan Zimmerman (.130/.231/.261) off to very slow starts.
Jordan Zimmerman was able to work around minimal run support in his first start of the season, a 2-1 win over the Mets. Zimmerman gave up just one earned run on five hits in six innings of work, the 14th straight start he’s gone six innings or more.
With the Nats’ offense struggling, Zimmerman will need to come up with another impressive outing in Boston. Washington has won the last 12 regular games which Zimmerman has started.
Betting on the Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox’s little three-game winning streak came to a grinding halt last night as they were blitzed 7-0 in the first inning en route to a 14-4 loss to the New York Yankees in the final game of their three-game set.
Clay Buchholz’s disastrous nine-run outing was by far the worst from a Boston starter thus far this season. For the most part, the Red Sox rotation has kept the team in the game just enough for their prolific offense to take care of the rest.
The Red Sox have scored six or more runs in four of their first six games. Hanley Ramirez has started out very well, batting .320 with three homers and seven RBIs. Pablo Sandoval has also come on strong, with seven hits in 18 at-bats in the three-game series against New York.
The lone exception of Boston’s lineup failing to come through was in their second game of the season against the Phillies. They managed only two runs on three hits, as Rick Porcello (three runs in six innings) lost in his first start for the Sox. Boston only needs something close to that type of serviceable performance from Porcello against the Nats because their offense is very much capable of producing runs.
But for some reason, Porcello hasn’t received much run support. Including his last six starts in Detroit, Porcello’s teams have now lost seven straight games which he’s started, with his offenses averaging just over two runs per game.
Writer’s Prediction
The Red Sox rebound to beat the Nats, 6-3. Create a betting account now and get wagering on all the best MLB interleague matchups all season long.
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