Doug Fister (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and the Washington Nationals (3-6) go up against Cole Hamels (0-1, 3.75 ERA) and the Philadelphia Phillies (3-6) in the first of a four-game division series at Nationals Park. The game gets underway at 7:05 p.m. ET on Thursday, Apr. 16 and will air on CSN-PHI and MASN.
Fister is 2-2 with a 2.12 ERA and 1.00 WHIP against the Phillies in his career. Michael Taylor (.270 ) continued his hot start yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one RBI. In his career against the Nationals, Hamels is 15-8 with a 2.59 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 218 strikeouts. Cody Asche (.500 ) has been hitting the ball well to start the season for the Phillies, going 3 for 3 yesterday.
Washington, a -134 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Philadelphia. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is six runs. When playing as the favorite, the Nationals have a 2-4 record and overall money line at -435. Washington’s pitching staff performs very well on its own field, with an NL-best 1.33 team ERA at home. The Nationals don’t give up many hits to opposing batters at Nationals Park, ranking second in the NL with only 7.0 hits allowed per home game.
Moving on to the away team, the Phillies come into this game with a win percentage of .375 when playing as the underdog (3-5) and an overall money line of -232. Against divisional opponents, they are 2-4 SU and have played poorly as the underdog with a 2-4 record. Philadelphia’s pitching staff tends to perform well when they play division rivals. They’ve allowed an average of 3.5 runs per game against teams from the NL East, lower than their season average of 4.1.
The Phillies are 2-1 against the Nationals this season. The right-handed Fister will take the mound against the Phillies, who have a 2-5 record against righty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – WSH, O/U – Under
Notes
Washington is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 16 of Washington’s last 23 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Washington’s last 7 games at home.
Washington is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Washington is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games when playing Philadelphia.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington’s last 5 games when playing Philadelphia.
Washington is 15-6 SU in its last 21 games when playing at home against Philadelphia.
Washington has won 29% (2-5) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, Philadelphia has won 50% (2-2) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Nationals are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Phillies have a 2-3 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When outhit, both the Nationals and the Phillies have records of 0-6.
Philadelphia ranks near the bottom of the league at 21st when it comes to home runs, hitting six this season. Washington ranks in the top 10 at ninth with nine.
Washington and Philadelphia both rank in the top half of the league in hits. Washington sits at 13th with 7.22 hits per game and Philadelphia ranks 12th with 7.33.
Ranking 27th, Philadelphia is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.612). Washington ranks in the bottom half at 18th with an OPS of .649.
When the Phillies allow at least one home run, they are 2-4. When the Nationals allow one or more homers, they have a 2-2 record.
