Houston Astros vs Washington Nationals Betting Pick & Prediction 4/20/24

At 4:05 PM from Nationals Park in Washington, we have an interleague matchup between the Astros and Nationals. Heading into Saturday’s game, the Astros are 7-14, while the Nationals are 8-11. Houston is the favorite on the money line at -181, and the over/under line is at 9 runs.

Looking at the starting pitching matchup, we have Ronel Blanco going for the Astros and Trevor Williams for the Nationals. You can catch this one on TV on the MLB Network.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS VS HOUSTON ASTROS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Washington Nationals Moneyline +152

This game will be played at Nationals Park at 4:05 ET on Saturday, April 20th.

HOW TO BET THE ASTROS VS NATIONALS:

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

Houston picked up a 5-3 win over the Nationals in the most recent game of this series. The Astros had a three-run 2nd inning and added two more in the 5th. As for the Nationals, they scored their first run in the 3rd and added two more in the 9th.

Justin Verlander started for the Astros and picked up the win, going six innings and giving up two earned runs. He finished the game with just four strikeouts and allowed one home run. MacKenzie Gore struggled on the mound for the Nationals, giving up three earned runs in just four innings of work.

Riley Adams hit the game’s only home run while going 2/3 with three RBIs, but it came in a losing effort. Jeremy Pena did a bit of everything for the Astros, going 3/4 with a run scored while playing solid defense at shortstop.

Astros Records & Stats

As the Astros are on the road today vs. the Nationals, they are looking to move back to .500, as they are currently 7-14. In the AL West, they are in 5th place and four games behind the Rangers. So far, they have gone just 4-9 at home and 3-5 on the road.

Houston picked up a win in their most recent game, closing out their series with the Braves with a win. This came after being on a four-game losing streak. The Astros have an overall series record of 2-3-1 this season.

When the Astros are favored, they are just 5-11 on the run line. They are 3-2 as underdogs. Their average run margin in winning games is 5.3, while it is -4.1 in losses. The Astros are 8-13 on the run line overall, with a 3-game run line win streak.

When the Astros play, the over/under line is typically set at 9 runs. So far this season, 42.9% of their games have had higher lines, and 23.8% have had lower lines. Their games have averaged 9.8 runs per game, and their over/under record is 8-11. In their last game, the over/under line was set at 8 runs, and the game ended with 8 runs scored.

Ronel Blanco and the Astros are on the road to take on the Nationals. Blanco has been great in his first two starts of the season, picking up a win in each. He threw a complete game in his first start, and then went 6 innings in his last outing, giving up 2 earned runs on 5 hits.

For the Astros, we have Yordan Alvarez with the best odds to hit a home run today, as his projection is 3rd best in the league. Jose Altuve has the 4th best odds in the league to record a hit, and his home run projection is 5th best in the league. Alex Bregman’s total hits projection is 17th best in the league, and his home run projection is 10th best today. Yainer Diaz has the 6th best odds to hit a home run today.

Nationals Records & Stats

As the Nationals are at home today, they are looking to move above .500, as they are currently 8-11. In the NL East, they are 5.5 games behind the Braves, as they are in 4th place heading into today’s game. Washington has a series record of 2-4 this season.

When playing at home, the Nationals are 2-5 compared to 6-6 on the road. Washington got a win in their most recent game of the series vs. the Dodgers. This came after alternating wins and losses over the final six games of their road trip.

Washington has been a solid run line team this season, going 11-8 overall. They have been especially good on the road, going 9-3 against the run line. However, they have struggled at home, going just 2-5. Overall, they have an average run margin of -0.8 runs per game, with an average run margin of -1.9 runs per game at home.

Washington’s over/under record for the season is 8-10, and the average over/under line for their games has been set at 9 runs. Their games have averaged 8.1 runs per game, and their over/under record when the line has been set at 9 runs is 0-0. So far this season, 73.7% of their games have had over/under lines set below 9 runs, and 26.3% have had lines set above 9 runs.

Coming off a no-decision in his last start, Trevor Williams will be on the mound for the Nationals as they host the Astros. Through his first 2 starts, Williams has a win and a no-decision, and he has struck out 14 batters in 10 1/3 innings of work.

When looking at the Nationals’ player prop projections, Lane Thomas stands out as he has the best odds on the team to hit a home run and his home run projection is 8th best in the league today. CJ Abrams has the best overall hits projection on the team and his total hits projection is 11th best in the league today. Joey Gallo’s home run projection is 9th in the league today.