Prizing:

1st Place: $25 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Starbucks gift card

Overview:

On Wednesday, June 7th, the (35-20) Washington Nationals will be on the road to take on the (35-23) Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Dodgers 4.6 – Nationals 3.9 with an over/under of 8.6.

Starting Pitchers:

WAS: Stephen Strasburg (7-1, 2.91) vs LAD: Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 2.28)

Batting Stats:

Runs per game: Nationals 5.67 (1^st) > Dodgers 4.88 (9^th)

Batting Average: Nationals .279 (1^st) > Dodgers .253 (13^th)

On Base Percentage: Nationals .348 (1^st) > Dodgers .335 (6^th)

Total Bases: Nationals 933 (1^st) > Dodgers 812 (12^th)

Baserunning Stats:

Stolen Bases: Nationals 34 (9^th) > Dodgers 29 (15^th)

Pitching Stats:

Team Earned Run Average: Dodgers 3.20 (1^st) > Nationals 4.19 (15^th)

Batting Average Against: Dodgers .229 (7^th) > Nationals .251 (16^th)

Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched: Dodgers 1.16 (1^st) > Nationals 1.30 (10^th)

Strikeouts: Dodgers 563 (2^nd) > Nationals 476 (13^th)

Saves: Nationals 17 (7^th) > Dodgers 12 (21^st)

Fielding Stats:

Errors: Nationals 30 (8^th) > Dodgers 41 (29^th)

Summary:

The Dodgers enter the game 9^th in runs per game (4.88) and 1^st in earned run average (3.20).  The Nationals rank 1^st in runs per game (5.67) and 15^th in earned run average (4.19).  Both the Nationals and Dodgers are (7-3) in their last ten games.  These teams have yet to face off in 2017 but the Dodgers were (8-3) against the Nationals last year.  This should be a low scoring game with two of the best pitchers in baseball facing off against one another.  Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw has held Nationals hitters to a combined .226 average against.  Bryce Harper is the leading candidate for MVP in the National League, but his struggles (1-15 with 10 strikeouts) against Kershaw are well documented.  Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg has had success against Washington to a combined .219 average against.  The Dodgers (21-8) have the best record in the National League while the Nationals (19-11) have been very good on the road.  The Dodgers must play a clean game defensively because they have the second most errors (41) in MLB.  I think the two aces will pitch to a draw but I like the Dodgers bullpen to win the game in the late innings.

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