Doug Fister (1-0, 0.69 ERA) and the Washington Nationals (7-7) meet John Lackey (1-0, 2.77 ERA) and the St. Louis Cardinals (8-4) in the second of a three-game series at Nationals Park. The Nationals won the last game 2-1 and Washington leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 7:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Apr. 22 and will air on FSN-MW, MASN and ESPN.
In his last start, Fister pitched 6.2 innings, allowing one, striking out four and walking four in a 5-2 victory over the Phillies. Bryce Harper (.265, 10 Rs, 4 HRs, 8 RBIs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one RBI. In his career against the Nationals, Lackey is 1-0 with a 1.12 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and six strikeouts. Matt Holliday (.425, 5 Rs, 7 RBIs, 2 SBs) has been hitting the ball well to start the season, going 4 for 4 yesterday with one RBI.
Washington, a -129 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against St. Louis. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at seven runs. When playing as the favorite, the Nationals have a 5-5 record and overall money line at -311. They have been very patient at the plate during home games, ranking fifth in the NL with an average of 3.1 walks per game. As for the pitching staff, the Nationals don’t give up many hits at home to opposing batters at Nationals Park, leading the NL with only 6.7 hits allowed per home game.
Switching gears, the Cardinals come into this game with a solid win percentage of .667 when playing as the underdog (2-1) and an overall money line of +418. They have the lowest road ERA in the NL at 2.40. They have a WHIP of 1.07 on the year, good for fourth in the league. The St. Louis pitching staff has been an intimidating group on the road this year, averaging an NL-best 9.8 strikeouts per game.
The only other game between the two teams went Washington’s way. The Nationals will take on a right-hander (Lackey) in this game and have a 4-6 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Cardinals will be the right-hander Fister. They sport a 7-3 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Over
Notes
For the third time this season, the Cardinals registered at least two errors in a game.
When the Nationals play into extra innings, they have a 2-1 record. The Cardinals are 1-1 when their games exceed nine innings.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Cardinals are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Nationals have a 3-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Cardinals are 5-4. The Nationals have a 5-1 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 24th, St. Louis sits near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 44 this season. Washington ranks in the top half at 15th with 55.
Ranking 22nd, St. Louis is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 35 this season. Washington ranks in the top 10 at eighth with 48.
The Nationals are 6-5 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Cardinals are 4-1 when they hit at least one homer.
