Cincinnati Reds vs Washington Nationals Betting Pick & Prediction 7/20/24

First pitch for Saturday’s Reds vs. Nationals matchup is set for 6:45 PM ET from Nationals Park in Washington, DC. The money line odds have the Reds at -108 compared to the Nationals at -110, and the over/under line is sitting at 8.5 runs.

Cincinnati comes in with a record of 47-51 and is starting Nick Lodolo, while the Nationals are 45-53 and will have MacKenzie Gore on the mound. MASN will be televising this NL matchup.

CINCINNATI REDS VS WASHINGTON NATIONALS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Cincinnati Reds Moneyline -108

This game will be played at Nationals Park at 6:45 ET on Saturday, July 20th.

HOW TO BET THE REDS VS NATIONALS:

• We have the Reds winning by a score of 6 to 5
• However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Nationals to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 11 runs and like the over

Washington picked up an 8-5 win over the Reds in the most recent game of this series. The Nationals had a huge 4th inning, scoring four of their eight runs. As for the Reds, they scored four of their five runs in the 9th inning when the game was already out of reach.

Patrick Corbin started for the Nationals and picked up the win, going six innings and giving up just one run. He finished the game with six strikeouts but didn’t issue a walk. Frankie Montas had a rough outing for the Reds, taking the loss after going just 4 2/3 innings and giving up seven earned runs.

Juan Yepez and Keibert Ruiz each homered for the Nationals, while Jacob Young scored twice and drove in two runs while going 2/3. James Wood also had a two RBI game at the plate.

Reds Records & Stats

Cincinnati is 47-51 overall this season, and they are 8.5 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. The Reds lost the first game of this series vs. the Nationals and have dropped two straight games overall. In the NL Central, they are 4th and trail the Pirates by 2.5 games for the 3rd spot in the division.

As the road team, the Reds are 22-23 this year compared to a 25-28 mark at home. Cincinnati has been good as the road favorite this year, going 7-2, and they are 25-21 as the favorite overall. As for their record as the underdog, it is 22-30, and the Reds’ overall series record is 11-17-3. They have won two straight series.

The Reds are 30-15 against the run line on the road this season, and their average run differential in those games is +0.7 runs per game. They’ve been a run line underdog in 52 games and have gone 32-20 in those contests. Their average run differential in wins is +3.7 runs per game, while it’s -2.8 runs per game in losses.

Today, the Cincinnati Reds are on the road against the Washington Nationals. The over/under line for the game is set at 8.5 runs, which is slightly lower than the average combined run average for Reds games this season. Cincinnati has played 17 games with an over/under line of 8.5 runs this year, going 9-8 in those contests. Overall, the Reds have played in 51 games with over/under lines set above 8.5 runs, which accounts for 52% of their games this season.

Nick Lodolo gets the start for the Reds today as he faces the Nationals on the road. He has made 14 starts this season and has a record of 8-3 with an ERA of 3.33. Lodolo’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.12, and he has turned in six quality starts. In his last outing, the left-hander finished with a no-decision, giving up two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. Before that, he had gone 3 2/3 innings in back-to-back outings. Lodolo has given up at least one homer in each of his last three outings. His ERA at home is 4.41 compared to 2.31 on the road.

Elly De La Cruz has been a consistent run producer for the Reds this season, as he is 3rd on the team in RBIs and has also gone deep 17 times, which is the best mark on the team and 11th in the league. De La Cruz is also currently on a seven-game hitting streak. Over his last five games, Rece Hinds has been swinging a hot bat, going 6/18 with three homers and seven RBIs.

Overall, the Reds are averaging 4.5 runs per game, which is 14th in the league. They have been a pretty good home run hitting team this season and are near the top of the league in isolated power. As a team, they are batting just .231, which is 16th in the MLB.

Nationals Records & Stats

Washington is 45-53 overall, putting them 4th in the NL East, and they trail the Phillies by 17.5 games for the division lead. The Nationals are 16-15 against other teams in the NL East. So far, they have been just below average at home, going 21-24, compared to 24-29 on the road.

As the underdog, the Nationals have gone 36-45 this year, while they are 9-8 when favored. Washington’s overall series record is 12-17-2, and they are currently up 1-0 on the Reds in this series.

Washington has been a solid run line bet this season, going 55-43 overall. They have been a bit better on the road, going 30-23 compared to 25-20 at home. They have been a better run line bet as the underdog, going 47-34 compared to 8-9 as the favorite. Their average run margin in winning games is +3.4, while their average run margin in losing games is -3.5.

Washington’s games have averaged 8.7 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 47-47. They’ve gone over in 14 of 30 games when the line was set at 8.5 runs, and their games have averaged 9 runs per game overall. Their games have gone over the line in 34 of 98 games this season, and their current over streak is at 3 games.

Washington is sending left-hander MacKenzie Gore to the mound today vs. the Reds. He has made 19 starts this season and has a record of 6-8 with a 4.01 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, Gore has a WHIP of 1.43 and opponents are batting .255 off him this season. In his 19 starts, Gore has turned in five quality starts and is averaging 10.58 strikeouts per nine innings. The last time he pitched, Gore took the loss, giving up four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. He has given up at least one homer in three of his last four outings.

Washington’s offense has been near the bottom of the league in terms of home runs and runs scored this season, averaging just 4.2 runs per game. They have been even worse in terms of power, as their collective slugging percentage of .370 is 23rd in the MLB. The Nationals do have three players with at least 11 homers, led by CJ Abrams, who is batting .265 with a team-high 48 RBIs.

Over his last five games, Abrams is just 3/22, while Jesse Winker has also struggled, going 3/13 in that stretch. However, Juan Yepez has been hot of late, going 9/17 with a homer and four RBIs in his last five games. Yepez also comes into the game on an 11-game hitting streak.