Kansas City Royals vs Washington Nationals Betting Pick & Prediction 9/26/24

There appears to be a chance for light rain in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, as the forecasted temperature is 70 degrees. Michael Wacha will start for the Royals, and they are facing the Nationals, who will send Patrick Corbin to the mound. The money line odds have the Royals at -174 compared to the Nationals at +145. The over/under line is currently 8.5 runs.

The Royals are 84-74 and their two-game winning streak, and they are 2nd in the AL Central. The Nationals, meanwhile, are 69-89 and have lost three straight. Washington is 4th in the NL East. MASN will be televising Thursday’s interleague matchup.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS VS KANSAS CITY ROYALS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Washington Nationals Moneyline +145

This game will be played at Nationals Park at 1:05 ET on Thursday, September 26th.

HOW TO BET THE ROYALS VS NATIONALS:

• We have the Nationals winning by a score of 5 to 4
• 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 9 runs and like the over

Thanks to a two-run sixth inning for the Royals’ offense, they picked up a 3-0 win over the Nationals in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Royals were favored at -139 on the money line.

Michael Lorenzen only went 2 1/3 innings for the Royals but didn’t give up a run or a hit and picked up two strikeouts. Lucas Erceg got the save. DJ Herz struggled on the mound for the Nationals, giving up one run in five innings of work.

Kansas City got to Herz in the sixth inning, as he gave up a two-run homer to Robbie Grossman. Grossman finished the game with two hits and two RBIs.

Royals Records & Stats

Kansas City is 84-74 overall this season, and they are 7.5 games behind the Guardians in the AL Central. The Royals have gone 33-19 against other teams in the AL Central. They have won two straight games, and they are coming into today’s game after taking the first two games of this series vs. the Nationals.

At home, the Royals have gone 45-36 this season, and they are just above .500 at 39-38 on the road. As the favorite, the Royals have gone 49-31 this year and 35-43 as the underdog. Kansas City’s overall series record is 22-26-2, and they have dropped two straight series.

When the Royals are on the road, they are a good bet to cover the run line, as they are 43-34 on the run line in those games. They have an average run margin of +0.7 when they are the away team, and they are 46-32 on the run line as an underdog this season.

The Kansas City Royals are on the road tonight against the Washington Nationals. The over/under line for the game is set at 8.5 runs, which is slightly higher than their combined run average of 8.6. The Royals have an over/under record of 68-85 on the season, and their games have averaged an over/under line of 8 runs. When the over/under line has been set at 8.5 runs, their record is 17-27. The over has hit in three straight games for Kansas City.

Michael Wacha will be looking to bounce back from his last outing, where he took the loss and gave up two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work. In that start vs. the Giants, he gave up six hits and issued one walk. Before that outing, Wacha had picked up the win in two straight starts. He didn’t give up a run in either of those outings and pitched at least five innings in each. Wacha’s ERA for the season is 3.29, along with a record of 13-8. For the year, he has made 28 starts, 14 of which were quality starts.

Heading into today’s game, the Royals are averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is 13th in the league. They have been a solid home team this season, averaging 4.8 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting .250, which is 7th in the league, and are 2nd in the league in fewest strikeouts per game.

Bobby Witt Jr. has been on a tear for the Royals, going 8/21 in his last six games and is batting .333 for the season. He also leads the team with 32 home runs and 108 RBIs. Salvador Perez is 2nd on the team with 27 homers and 103 RBIs, and he comes into the game with a batting average of .272.

Nationals Records & Stats

Washington is 69-89 overall, and they are 24.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East. So far, they have gone 23-26 in divisional games. The Nationals have dropped three straight games, and they are losing the series vs. the Royals 0-2.

At home, the Nationals are 36-41 this year, and they are 33-48 on the road. Washington has dropped two straight games as the home underdog, and they are 25-32 in these situations this year. As the underdog overall, the Nationals are 54-76 and 15-13 as the favorite.

Washington has been a solid run line bet this season, going 87-71. They are 41-36 against the run line at home and 46-35 on the road. They have been a better bet as an underdog, going 74-56 against the run line. Their average run differential this season is -0.7 runs per game.

Washington has been involved in high-scoring games this season, with a combined run average of 8.8. Their over/under record is 73-79, and when the line is set at 8.5, they are 20-23. The over has hit in 60 of their games this season, which is 38.0% of their games. The under has hit in 55 of their games, including their current streak of five straight under games.

Left-hander Patrick Corbin gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Royals at home. Corbin has made 31 starts this season and has a record of 6-13 with a 5.58 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, Corbin has a WHIP of 1.51 and has issued 2.82 walks per nine innings compared to 7.23 strikeouts. He has turned in nine quality starts this year. In his last outing, Corbin finished with a no-decision, giving up five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Before that, he had won two straight starts.

Washington’s offense has been one of the worst in the league this season, as they are just 25th in runs per game at 4 runs per contest. Not only that, but they are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and have a collective batting average of just .241. However, they do have two hitters with over 60 RBIs, with CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. both having gone deep at least 16 times this season.

Joey Gallo has really struggled at the plate of late, going just 4/19 in his last seven games. As a team, the Nationals have three players on three-game hitting streaks, with Lane Thomas, James Wood, and Darren Baker all looking to extend their streaks in today’s game.