Stephen Strasburg (3-0, 1.25 ERA) and Tyler Duffey (0-0, 0.00 ERA) are on the hill in the last of a three-game series between the Washington Nationals (13-4) and the Minnesota Twins (5-13) at Nationals Park. The Nationals won the last game 2-0, and Washington leads the series 2-0. Action begins at 1:35 p.m. ET on Sunday, Apr. 24 and can be seen on MASN and FSN.
Strasburg pitched 8.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering zero runs, striking out 10 and walking two in a 7-0 win over the Marlins. Bryce Harper (.311, 14 Rs, 8 HRs, 22 RBIs, 3 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one run. Eduardo Nunez (.405, 6 Rs, 7 RBIs, 3 SBs) went 1 for 5 yesterday with two RBIs.
The odds for Washington and Minnesota are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. In interleague play, the Nationals have a 3-9 record SU. The Nationals have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 0.0 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 0.0 runs per game. Opposing batters know they’re in for a battle when they play Washington. The Nationals are one of the top teams when it comes to pitching, allowing just 0.0 runs per game. The Nationals are the third-best team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.048 so far this season.
Minnesota is 11-4 SU against National League opponents. Offensively, the Twins have really picked up the pace in the last 10 games. They have exceeded their season average of 0.0 runs per game by averaging 0.0 during that stretch. Minnesota is excellent at drawing walks with 3.6 per road game, ranking fifth in the AL. The Twins allow 0.0 runs per game, but have improved upon those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 0.0 runs per game during that span.
The Nationals have the edge in the season series, 2-0.
Predictions: SU Winner – WAS
Notes
When leading after seven innings, Washington is 5-1, while Minnesota is 2-7.
The Twins didn’t score any runs in their last game. The Nationals have a 3-0 record when they don’t allow any runs.
When they are outhit, the Twins are 1-11. The Nationals have a 1-3 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 19th in home runs, Minnesota has hit 16 this season. Washington ranks 10th with 20 home runs.
Washington and Minnesota both rank in the bottom half of the league in hits. Washington sits at 20th with 7.94 hits per game and Minnesota ranks 19th with 8.06.
Ranking 19th, Minnesota is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.707). Washington ranks in the top half at 14th with an OPS of .739.
When the Twins allow at least one home run, they are 2-8. When the Nationals allow one or more homers, they have a 6-3 record.
