Washington Nationals vs Kansas City Royals Picks and Predictions September 24th 2024

The forecast from Washington, DC on Tuesday calls for cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. Nationals Park is the site for this interleague matchup, and the Nationals are 69-87 overall, while the Royals are 82-74 and have lost seven straight.

Kansas City is currently -172 on the money line compared to the Nationals at +146. First pitch is set for 6:45 PM ET, and MASN will be televising this one. Cole Ragans is starting for the Royals, while the Nationals are going with Mitchell Parker.

Kansas City vs. Washington Key Information

Cole Ragans is looking to bounce back from his last outing, where he gave up one earned run in seven innings of work. In that start vs. the Tigers, he finished with a no-decision. Looking back further, Ragans has turned in a solid season, as he has a record of 11-9 and an ERA of 3.24. Opponents have hit .208 off Ragans this season, and he has a WHIP of 1.15. Ragans has made 31 starts, one of which was a complete game, and he has 20 quality starts. For the year, he has 217 strikeouts, coming in with an average of 10.83 per nine innings.

Currently, the Royals are 12th in the MLB in scoring, averaging 4.6 runs per contest. This is pretty close to their season-long average of 4.8 runs per game at home. As a team, they are batting .250, which is 7th in the league, and are also one of the best teams in terms of avoiding strikeouts. Kansas City’s team on-base percentage is just 14th in the league, and they are also near the bottom of the league in terms of drawing walks.

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Over his last nine games, Bobby Witt Jr. has gone 11/31 with two homers and nine RBIs. For the season, he is batting .334 and leads the team with 32 homers and 108 RBIs. Salvador Perez is also having a strong season, with a batting average of .271 and 27 homers.

Left-hander Mitchell Parker gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Royals at home. Parker has made 28 starts this season and has a record of 7-10 with a 4.44 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, Parker has a WHIP of 1.30 and opponents are batting .256 this season. In his 28 starts, he has turned in 11 quality starts and is averaging 7.89 strikeouts per nine innings. Parker’s last outing came on September 17th, where he took the loss, giving up five earned runs in 3 2/3 innings of work. Before that, he had gone 6 1/3 innings without giving up an earned run.

Washington’s offense has been one of the worst in the league this season, averaging just 4.1 runs per game, which is 24th in the MLB. They have also struggled in the power department, as their 130 home runs is also 22nd in the league. As a team, they are batting .243, which is 12th in the league.

CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. have been the Nationals’ top power hitters this season, as Abrams leads the team with 20 homers, and Garcia is right behind him with 16. Both players are also at the top of the team’s RBI leaderboard. Over his last four games, Joey Gallo is 4/11 with two homers and six RBIs, while Jose Tena has gone 7/19 in his last five games.

Our lean for an over/under pick would be to take the over, as we have this as the 3rd lowest-scoring game of the day. As for who is going to take this one straight up, we have our lean on the Royals to pick up the win. Kansas City starter Cole Ragans has the 4th best odds to earn the win among today’s starters, and he has the 6th best odds to finish with the most strikeouts. On the other side, Mitchell Parker has the 4th worst projected innings pitched total among today’s starters.

Wild-Card-Contending Royals Out to Halt Skid at Nationals

The slumping Kansas City Royals will aim to get back on track when they visit the Washington Nationals for a three-game series beginning Tuesday night. Despite losing seven straight games for the second time in less than three weeks, the Royals (82-74) remain tied for the second wild-card spot in the American League.

Kansas City finishes the regular season with three games at Washington (69-87) and three at the Atlanta Braves as they compete with the Detroit Tigers (82-74), Minnesota Twins (81-75), and Seattle Mariners (80-76) for the final two wild-card berths behind the Baltimore Orioles (86-70).

Offensive Woes Plaguing Kansas City

The Royals were shut out for the second straight game on Sunday, falling 2-0 to the San Francisco Giants. This extended their losing streak to seven games, as they went 0-6 on their final homestand of the season.

“Just stay the course,” said Royals’ infielder Michael Massey. “We’ve done things to put ourselves in this position, and the last week of the season is probably not the time to throw darts at a wall blindfolded because things aren’t going our way.”

Kansas City’s offense has struggled mightily, scoring only four runs over the past five games.

“No luck, no clutch — those two variables in all the games,” added outfielder Tommy Pham. “Our pitchers, for the most part, gave us a chance in all the games. We just didn’t help them out.”

Nationals and Braves Await Kansas City in Final Stretch

While the Nationals are playing out the string, Atlanta’s playoff positioning could be determined by its current series against the New York Mets. Kansas City may face a less-motivated Braves team this weekend, depending on how things shake out for Atlanta.

For Tuesday’s series opener, the Royals will send left-hander Cole Ragans (11-9, 3.24 ERA) to the mound against Nationals’ lefty Mitchell Parker (7-10, 4.44 ERA).

Ragans Aiming to Continue September Success

Ragans has been solid in September, going 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in three starts, striking out 20 batters over 19 innings. In his most recent outing, Ragans allowed one run in seven innings against the Detroit Tigers but did not factor into the decision as Kansas City lost 3-1. This will be Ragans’ first career start against Washington.

Parker Seeking to End Rookie Campaign on a High Note

For Washington, Parker will try to bounce back from a rough stretch in which he has gone 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA over his last five starts. In his most recent outing, Parker struggled against the New York Mets, allowing five runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He has also never faced Kansas City in his career.

“I was getting two strikes (on the hitter) and wasn’t able to put anything away,” Parker said of his outing against the Mets. “You can’t really walk two guys and not expect anything bad to happen, especially against a team like the Mets.”

Nationals Looking to Finish Rebuilding Season Strong

The Nationals are limping toward the finish line of their rebuilding campaign. After a 1-6 road trip, Washington capped the stretch with a 5-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. It was the 34th time the Nationals have been held to one run or fewer this season.

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“We had some innings going where we could’ve gotten some runs,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said after his team went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. “We just couldn’t drive in any runs. We just start chasing in those moments. Let the pitcher be the guy that feels like he’s got to struggle. We’re going to get better.”

Washington’s Goals for the Final Stretch

The Nationals need three more wins from their final six games to surpass last year’s total of 71 victories. Jose Tena and James Wood were bright spots for Washington on Sunday, each recording two hits in the loss to the Cubs. The Nationals finished with a 33-48 record on the road this season.