Washington Nationals vs Milwaukee Brewers Picks and Predictions August 2nd 2024

From Nationals Park in Washington, we have the Brewers and Nationals facing off in an NL matchup. Friday’s forecast in Washington calls for broken clouds and temperatures in the upper 90s. First pitch is at 6:45 PM ET.

The over/under line for Friday’s game is at 9 runs, and the Brewers are favored on the money line (-119). Jake Irvin is starting for the Nationals, and they are the slight underdog (+100). Milwaukee is 61-47, while the Nationals come in with a record of 49-60.

Milwaukee vs. Washington Key Information

Milwaukee is sending Frankie Montas to the mound today vs. the Nationals. He has made 19 starts this season and has a record of 4-8 with an ERA of 5.01. Montas’ WHIP for the season is 1.44, and he has issued 3.95 walks per nine innings compared to 7.52 strikeouts. The right-hander has made six quality starts this year. In his last outing, Montas finished with a no-decision, giving up four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Before that, he had lost three straight starts.

Over his last 10 games, Rhys Hoskins has four home runs and is batting .290. Hoskins’ 18 homers for the season is 13th in the league and is the top mark on the Brewers. He also comes into the game on a seven-game hitting streak. William Contreras is 2nd on the team with 57 RBIs and has 11 homers while batting .281.

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As a team, the Brewers are 6th in batting average and are 10th in scoring at 4.7 runs per game. They have been even better at home, averaging 4.9 runs per contest. Overall, they are 19th in home runs and have the 2nd best BABIP in the league. Currently, the Brewers have three players on a hitting streak, with Hoskins leading the way at seven games.

Jake Irvin will be looking to build off his last outing, where he picked up the win vs. the Cardinals. In that start, he went 5 1/3 innings and gave up just two earned runs. Looking back over his last four outings, he has finished with a no-decision, win, loss, and loss. So, he has been a bit up and down recently. Irvin’s record for the season is 8-8, and he has an ERA of 3.44. Opposing batters are hitting .224 off the right-hander this season. Overall, he has made 22 starts, 13 of which were quality starts.

The Nationals offense has been one of the league’s worst home run hitting teams this season, and they are also near the bottom of the league in terms of slugging percentage and isolated power. As a team, they are batting .241, which is 13th in the league, and are averaging 4.2 runs per game. CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. are the team’s top home run hitters, with 15 and 11 homers, respectively.

Over his last eight games, Juan Yepez has gone 9/32 with a home run and eight RBIs. Alex Call and Ildemaro Vargas are both on three-game hitting streaks, with Call going 4/8 over his last three games. However, Call is batting just .160 over his last seven games.

The Lean

We have this one as a low-scoring game, but with the line sitting at 9 runs, we are leaning towards taking the over. As for who is going to take this one straight up, we like the Nationals to come out on top. Jake Irvin isn’t our highest projected starter of the day in terms of strikeouts, but he has the 4th best chance to pick up a win. On the other side, Frankie Montas has the best strikeout projection among today’s starters.

Brewers Seek Fresh Start vs. Nationals After Mediocre Month

The Milwaukee Brewers trust a flip of the calendar will assist with turning their fortunes when they open a three-game series at the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

Brewers’ Battles in July

The Brewers went 11-13 in July and started August with a collection of wounds, none more shaking than the common back issue that erupted with outfielder Christian Yelich. Heading into the month, Milwaukee actually held a five-game lead in the National League Central.

“I believe we’re a young team that is going through it,” Milwaukee chief Pat Murphy said after a 6-2 misfortune to the meeting Atlanta Overcomes on Wednesday. “You could call it tired, you could call it anything you desire to call it from an external perspective. ‘Indeed, they’re not dominating as many matches.’ There’s such countless variables. You need to sort of arrive at down and sort of reconsider where you are personally and the way in which you can return to that.”

Wounds and Young Players

The Brewers should return to their triumphant ways without Yelich, as well as relievers Ransack Zastryzny, Bryan Hudson, and Trevor Megill, who are also on the harmed list. The deficiency of Yelich, the 2018 NL MVP, has placed additional tension on the younger position players, especially infielders Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz and outfielders Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, and Jackson Chourio.

Yelich emphasized that the youngsters don’t need to change their approach to the game just because they’re in a playoff race.

“You still have to play the games and play well,” he said. “The biggest thing is, don’t change just because we’re about to be in August and you’re going to look up and still be in first place when nobody thought in March that we would be there. You go from being expected to finish last in the division to being in first, so keep being the guys who were expected to finish last. Play with that freedom and give it hell.”

Pitching Matchup: Montas vs. Irvin

Milwaukee procured veteran right-hander Frankie Montas from the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, and he’ll begin the series opener. Montas (4-8, 5.01 ERA) battled in July, going 1-2 out of four beginnings with a 7.71 ERA for the Reds. He confronted the Nationals on July 19 and surrendered seven runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings. Montas has confronted Washington multiple times in his career, making two beginnings, and is 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in those games. He didn’t get fifth inning in his latest beginning, giving up four runs and 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 9-4 win against the Overcomes.

Right-hander Jake Irvin will begin for the Nationals on Friday. Irvin (8-8, 3.44 ERA) has been strong in his past two beginnings subsequent to encountering consecutive unfortunate trips, remembering a misfortune to the Brewers for July 14. The second-year right-hander surrendered seven runs (six procured) and nine hits more than four innings in the 9-3 misfortune in Milwaukee, however Irvin quickly returned to restrict his past two rivals to a total of four runs north of 12 1/3 innings. He beat the St. Louis Cardinals his last break, allowing two runs and four hits more than 5 1/3 innings in a 14-3 win.

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Nationals’ Recent Performance

The Nationals have lost four in a row after getting swept in a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Sandwiched around a 17-0 loss on Tuesday were a pair of one-run losses.

Washington All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams said the Nationals need to do a better job of bringing a game plan into the batter’s box.

“You’ve got to attack the pitcher, 9 versus 1,” he said. “We’ve got to get back to that.”

Game Outlook

As the Brewers look to bounce back from a mediocre month and navigate through their injuries, the young players will need to step up and maintain their position in the standings. The Nationals, on the other hand, will aim to break their losing streak and improve their performance at the plate. With Frankie Montas and Jake Irvin on the mound, the series opener promises to be an intriguing matchup as both teams seek to start August on a positive note.