Washington Nationals vs Tampa Bay Rays Betting Pick & Prediction 6/28/24

Friday’s interleague matchup between the Nationals and Rays is set to get started at 6:50 PM ET from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. The Nationals are 38-42 and are starting Mitchell Parker, while the Rays have Zach Eflin on the mound.

The money line odds have the Rays at -159, while the Nationals are the slight underdog at +135. Today’s over/under line is at 7.5 runs, and the game can be seen on MASN.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Washington Nationals Moneyline +135

This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 6:50 ET on Friday, June 28th.

HOW TO BET THE NATIONALS VS RAYS:

• 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

Nationals Records & Stats

Led by a big game by Lane Thomas at the plate, the Nationals are coming off a game in which they scored five runs on only five hits. Thomas went 1/2 with two RBIs and a run scored. The Nationals really broke things open with a five-run 9th inning but couldnjson’t close things out, and the Padres scored four runs in the bottom of the 8th to pick up the win. Washington was the +159 underdog going into this road game.

DJ Herz got the start for the Nationals and took the loss. He only lasted 3 1/3 innings, giving up four earned runs. Offensively, the Nationals scored their five runs on a double, two singles, and two RBIs.

Washington is on the road today to take on the Rays, having dropped three straight games, and they are 38-42 overall. In the NL East, they trail the Phillies by 14.5 games, and they are in 4th place in the division. So far, they have gone 14-10 in divisional games.

At home, the Nationals are 17-19 this year, and they have gone 21-23 on the road. As the underdog, the Nationals are 30-35 this season, and they are 8-7 when favored. Washington’s overall series record is 11-14-1, and they were swept by the Padres in their most recent series.

The Nationals have been a solid run line bet this season, going 47-33 overall. They have been especially good on the road, where they are 27-17 against the run line. They have been a better bet as an underdog, going 40-25 against the run line in those games.

The Washington Nationals are on the road today against the Tampa Bay Rays, and the over/under line for the game is set at 7.5 runs. The Nationals have an over/under record of 37-40 on the season, and their games have averaged a combined 8.5 runs per game. When the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, the Nationals have gone over the total in 11 of 18 games, and their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs per game. The over has hit in three straight Nationals games.

Left-hander Mitchell Parker gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Rays on the road. He has made 13 starts this season and has a record of 5-3 with an ERA of 3.30. Parker’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.10, and opponents are batting .225 off him this year. In his 13 starts, Parker has turned in five quality starts and is averaging 7.09 strikeouts per nine innings. Parker’s last outing came against the Rockies, where he finished with a no-decision, giving up four earned runs in six innings of work. Before that, he had gone three straight outings without taking the loss.

Washington’s offense has been pretty average this season, as they are 19th in runs per game at 4.2 and are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and slugging percentage. The team’s collective batting average of .236 is also below the league average. Over his last five games, CJ Abrams has been on fire, going 9/20 with six runs scored and one homer. Abrams is hitting .280 for the season and leads the Nationals with 40 RBIs.

Joey Meneses has also been a bright spot for the Nationals this season, leading the team with 41 RBIs. However, he is batting just .240 and has only three homers. Jesse Winker has been a solid run producer for the Nationals, with 36 RBIs, but he is batting just .261 for the season and has only nine homers.

Rays Records & Stats

The Rays will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Mariners with a 5-2 loss. This was especially tough, as they held a lead going into the 6th inning before the Mariners scored three runs in the top of the 6th. Tampa Bay was the -111 favorite at home going into the game.

Ryan Pepiot was excellent for the Rays, going 5 1/3 innings and giving up just one earned run while striking out eight. However, the Rays couldn’t close things out, and Shawn Armstrong took the loss out of the bullpen. The Rays also wasted a big game from José Caballero, who went 3/3 with a double, run scored, and an RBI.

Tampa Bay will open their series vs. the Nationals with a record of 40-41, and they are 11 games behind the Orioles for the AL East lead. Currently, they are 4th in the division and have gone just 10-17 in AL East matchups this year. The Rays closed out their series vs. the Mariners with a win and took the series 2-1.

At home, the Rays are 21-24 this year and have gone 19-17 on the road. So far, they have been a bit better as the favorite, putting up a mark of 23-21. Tampa Bay has been the underdog in 37 games, where they are 17-20. The Rays’ overall series record is 13-11-2, and they have won three straight series.

The Rays have been a tough team to bet on this season, as they have an overall run line record of 36-45. They have been a better bet on the road, where they are 22-14 against the run line, compared to just 14-31 at home. Their average run margin for the season is -0.7 runs per game, and they have been outscored by an average of 0.5 runs per game on the road and 0.8 runs per game at home.

When the Tampa Bay Rays play at home, the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs for their game against the Washington Nationals. The Rays’ games have averaged 8.8 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 41-36. Their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs, and when the line is set at 7.5 runs, their over/under record is 14-9. Overall, 65.4% of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 7.5 runs.

Zach Eflin gets the start for the Rays today and is coming off a rough outing vs. the Pirates, where he gave up four earned runs in seven innings of work. In that outing, he gave up one homer. Eflin took the loss in that game. Before that outing, he had turned in three straight quality starts. Eflin’s ERA for the season is 4.21, along with a record of 3-5. Opposing batters are hitting .260 off Eflin this season. So far, he has made four quality starts and is averaging 6.97 strikeouts per nine innings.

Yandy Diaz has been on a tear of late for the Rays, going 11/28 in his last six games with two homers and seven RBIs. He also comes into the game on a 19-game hitting streak. Isaac Paredes has been the Rays’ top power threat so far, as his 12 homers are 1st on the team and 13th in the league. He is also batting .272 for the season.

As a team, the Rays are averaging just 4 runs per game, and their home batting average of 3.8 runs per contest is 27th in the league. Overall, they are just 19th in home runs and have a collective batting average of .236. However, they do come into the game with a good team BABIP of .30.