Gio Gonzalez (6-4, 4.16 ERA) and Michael Lorenzen (3-3, 3.58 ERA) start in the last of a three-game series between the Washington Nationals (46-38) and the Cincinnati Reds (38-44) at Nationals Park. The Reds won the last game 5-0 and Cincinnati leads the series 2-0. Action begins at 7:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jul. 8 and can be seen on FSN-OH and MASN.
Gonzalez is 2-1 with a 1.83 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and 46 strikeouts against the Reds. Bryce Harper (.343, 58 Rs, 25 HRs, 60 RBIs, 4 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday. Against the Nationals, Lorenzen is 0-0 with a 2.84 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and four strikeouts. Joey Votto (.281, 42 Rs, 15 HRs, 42 RBIs, 5 SBs) has been successful at the plate, going 3 for 5 yesterday with two runs, one home run, and three RBIs.
Washington is a -170 favorite against Cincinnati and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. The Nationals have an overall money line of +25 and a record as the favorite of 38-26. Washington is one of the best in the NL in terms of walks, earning an average of 3.1 per game. As for the pitchers, opposing offenses that come to Nationals Park have been stifled by the Nationals, who have a team ERA of only 2.79 at home. The Nationals are the third-best team in the NL at limiting hits during home games, allowing only 8.2 hits per game to their opponents this season.
Over in the other dugout, Cincinnati is coming in with an overall money line of -777 and a disappointing record of 15-29 as the underdog. They played poorly as the underdog over their last 10 games with a 1-3 record, and a 3-7 record SU. The Reds are an excellent base-stealing team with an MLB-best 83 stolen bases.
The Reds lead the season series, 5-0. The Nationals have a 34-32 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Lorenzen takes the mound. Gonzalez (LHP) will be on the hill against the Reds, who have a 9-11 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – WSH, O/U – Over
Notes
For the 11th time this season, the Nationals registered at least two errors in a game.
When the Nationals play into extra innings, they have a 5-1 record. The Reds are 4-6 when their games exceed nine innings.
The Reds are coming into this game after allowing one walk during their last outing. The Nationals have a 5-10 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Reds are 6-31. The Nationals have an 8-35 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 11th in home runs, Washington has hit 84 this season. Cincinnati ranks sixth with 94 home runs.
Washington and Cincinnati both rank in the top 10 of the league in hits. Washington sits at seventh with 8.65 hits per game and Cincinnati ranks ninth with 8.54.
Washington and Cincinnati both rank in the top half of the league for their on-base plus slugging percentage. Washington sits at 12th with an OPS of .721 and Cincinnati ranks 14th with an OPS of .717.
When the Reds allow at least one home run, they are 17-35. When the Nationals allow one or more homers, they have a 17-22 record.
