Wednesday is a getaway day, which means a split schedule of afternoon and evening baseball. The MLB season gets clearer with each passing day as teams’ postseason chances start to dwindle. For a lot of squads, late August is make or break as they look to find a way into a late-season charge. One team doing the opposite of that would be the New York Yankees, who take on the Nationals at home today desperately looking for a win.
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Best Nationals-Yankees Odds, Pick & Prediction
The Yankees are home favorites of -135, but first let’s address the headlines. This Yankees team has lost nine straight and is in a straight tailspin heading towards September. New York got crushed by Atlanta on the road, swept by Boston and lost the opener of this series 2-1 last night. As bad as that is, this game has to be evaluated on its own, and the line has given Washington too much respect in this spot.
The Nationals are playing good baseball but are still just 58-68 on the season. They have won eight of 10, but that includes five one-run wins and nine straight home games during that stretch. Now they are on the road and send MacKenzie Gore to the mound, who is an average-at-best 6-9 with a 4.38 ERA. The ERA balloons to 5.11 on the road, and most of his splits do not jump off the page in either direction. Gore is a lefty, which is a positive for a Yankees lineup that desperately needs to find an offensive explosion.
One of the big worries for the Yankees tonight is Luis Severino getting the ball, as lately he has been terrible. At 2-8 on the year with a 7.98 ERA, Severino does not have a ton of positives to his splits. Facing Atlanta and Baltimore on the road and Houston at home in recent starts are not exactly the easiest opponents, but that is still no excuse for how bad August has been. Like with most pitchers, Severino’s ERA is better at home (6.00), but he needs to avoid the home run balls he has been serving up. Another positive is Washington is one of the worst home run-hitting teams in the league, so there are reasons to be encouraged, even with Severino’s recent struggles.
There is reason for hesitation in backing a team on the verge of a double-digit losing streak, but this line has overreacted. The Yankees still are over .500 at home and, despite the struggles, should have advantages against the Nationals. Sure, Washington has found some success late in the season, but there have been plenty of close games, including last night’s in New York. At -135, the Yankees are a good bet to break this abysmal streak, and it would not be a surprise for Severino to give them a quality outing.
Best Nationals-Yankees Pick Today: New York Yankees Moneyline (-135, Caesars)
