Philadelphia Phillies vs Washington Nationals Picks and Predictions August 17th 2024

From Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, we have the Nationals and Phillies facing off in an NL East matchup. First pitch for this one is at 6:05 PM ET. MASN will be televising this one, and the Phillies are the heavy favorite on the money line at -202.

The Nationals are 55-68, while the Phillies come in with a record of 72-50. Washington is starting MacKenzie Gore, while the Phillies are sending Cristopher Sanchez to the mound. Sanchez will be looking to help the Phillies extend their three-game winning streak.

Washington vs. Philadelphia Key Information

Left-hander MacKenzie Gore gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Phillies on the road. He has made 24 starts this season and has a record of 7-10 with a 4.50 ERA. Gore’s WHIP for the season is 1.57, and opponents are batting .268 off him this year. In his 24 starts, Gore has turned in five quality starts and is averaging 9.75 strikeouts per nine innings. The last time he pitched, Gore gave up five earned runs in four innings of work and took the loss. Before that outing, he had won two straight starts.

Washington’s offense comes into the game averaging 4.3 runs per game, which is 18th in the league. This is also the 25th ranked home run hitting team in the league. As a team, they are batting .244, which is 12th in the league. Luis Garcia Jr. and CJ Abrams are the team’s top power hitters, with Garcia Jr. leading the team in RBIs (59) and Abrams leading the team with 17 homers. Garcia Jr. is also batting .292 for the season.

Access Up-to-the-Minute MLB Information! Follow Live MLB Scores and Lines today.

James Wood has been swinging a hot bat of late for the Nationals, going 11/27 in his last seven games. This stretch includes one home run and four RBIs. Keibert Ruiz has also driven in four runs in his last six games but is just 5/25 in this stretch.

Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Diamondbacks, as he gave up seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. In that outing, he gave up two home runs. Before that, he had pitched well, picking up the win vs. the Dodgers and giving up just one earned run in six innings of work. Sánchez’s record for the season is 8-8, and he has an ERA of 3.63 to go along with a WHIP of 1.32. Opposing batters are hitting .263 off Sánchez this season.

Philadelphia comes into the game with the 6th best scoring offense in the league, averaging 4.9 runs per game. They have been even better at home, averaging 5.3 runs per contest. As a team, the Phillies are batting .257, which is the 5th best mark in the league, and are also among the league leaders in on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS.

Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber have been two of the league’s top power hitters this season, with Schwarber’s 28 homers leading the team and Harper’s 26 homers coming in as the 2nd most on the team. Alec Bohm has been hot of late, going 8/27 in his last 7 games, and he is also on a three-game hitting streak. Bohm’s 84 RBIs are the best mark on the team and 7th best in the league.

For an over/under pick, our lean is on the over, as we have this as the 6th highest-scoring game of the day. As for who is going to take this one straight up, we have our lean on the Phillies to pick up the win. Looking at the starting pitching matchup, we like the strikeout potential of MacKenzie Gore, but we have Cristopher Sánchez as the better innings eater in this one.

Phillies Look to Trea Turner for Continued Offensive Spark Against Nationals

The Philadelphia Phillies are riding a rush of energy, thanks to a great extent to the resurgent play of Trea Turner. Following a free day on Wednesday, Turner has answered with consecutive predominant exhibitions at the plate, and the Phillies will search for business as usual when they face the Washington Nationals in the third round of their four-game series on Saturday.

Turner’s Hot Streak

Turner has been on fire since returning to the lineup. On Thursday, he went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored in Philadelphia’s 13-3 rout of Washington. He followed that up with an even more impressive performance on Friday, going 4-for-5 and capping the night with a walk-off RBI single in the ninth inning, leading the Phillies to a 3-2 victory.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson credited Turner’s day off as a key factor in his recent success.

“I think he just relaxed a little bit,” Thomson said. “You don’t have to think about anything, you do some extra hitting in the cage, you work on some mechanical things. Just kind of clear your head (on the off day).”

Turner himself agreed with that assessment. “Yeah, I got a chance to hit quite a bit on that day off and figure some things out,” Turner told NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Phillies Gaining Momentum

The Phillies, who lead the National League East, have all the earmarks of being in the groove again after a new four-game long string of failures. With three straight wins added to their repertoire, including two against the Nationals, Philadelphia is hoping to push their force along. They have overwhelmed Washington this season, winning seven of their eight gatherings.

Despite Friday’s victory, the Nationals made it a close game with a late rally in the ninth inning that tied the score before Turner’s walk-off heroics. “Obviously, we couldn’t get the job done tonight,” Nationals outfielder James Wood said, according to the Washington Post. “But it was a good fight we put up in the ninth. We’re never out of the game.”

Wood has been one of the bright spots for the Nationals recently, going 3-for-4 on Friday and batting .391 over his last 19 games, with 14 RBIs and 16 runs scored.

Pitching Matchup: Sanchez vs. Gore

Saturday’s game will feature a battle of left-handers as Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sanchez takes the mound against Washington’s MacKenzie Gore.

Sanchez (8-8, 3.63 ERA) is looking to rebound from a tough outing in his last start, where he allowed seven runs on a career-high 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings during a 12-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Since the All-Star break, Sanchez has struggled, going 1-4 in his last five starts. He has a mixed record against the Nationals, with a 1-2 record and a 4.50 ERA in nine career appearances (six starts) against them. This season, Sanchez has faced Washington twice, with one loss and one no-decision.

Optimize Your Betting with MLB Tips! Discover today’s best MLB Prop Picks.

Gore (7-10, 4.50 ERA) has also had a rough stretch, going 1-5 in his last 10 games. In his last start, he allowed five unearned runs on five hits in four innings in a 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Gore has faced the Phillies seven times in his career, posting a 1-3 record with a 5.35 ERA. This season, he picked up a win against Philadelphia on April 7, allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings, and later settled for a no-decision on May 18 despite a solid 6 1/3-inning performance.

Conclusion: Phillies Eye Series Win

As the Phillies hope to get a series win against the Nationals, they will depend intensely on Trea Turner’s hot bat and expectation for a return quickly execution from Cristopher Sanchez. With force on their side and the Nationals battling to keep up, Philadelphia is in serious areas of strength for a to proceed with their series of wins and further set their lead in the NL East. The Nationals, be that as it may, will be anxious to ruin the Phillies’ arrangements and salvage a success behind MacKenzie Carnage, who will hope to rediscover his structure against an extreme Philadelphia setup.