Editorial by: Graydon Fox

Prizes:

1st Place: $25 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Amazon gift card

Top 5 Winners:

1. lonebutteranch (400 points)
2. slinkyaoa (400 points)
3. abeherrera58 (400 points)
4. gothgirl1988 (400 points)
5. Dave Gibb (300 points)

Overview:

On Sunday, June 24^th, the (39-33) Philadelphia Phillies will be on the road to take on the (39-33) Washington Nationals.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” is projecting a final score of Nationals 5.4 – Phillies 3.5 with an over/under of 8.9.

Starting Pitchers:

PHI: Nick Pivetta (4-6, 4.08) vs WAS: Jefry Rodriguez (0-0, 4.66)

Batting Stats:

Runs per game: Phillies 4.33 (16^th) > Nationals 4.25 (21^st)

Batting Average: Nationals .238 (21^st) > Phillies .233 (25^th)

On Base Percentage: Phillies .317 (16^th) > Nationals .316 (17^th)

Total Bases: Nationals 952 (24^th) > Phillies 932 (26^th)

Baserunning Stats:

Stolen Bases: Nationals 59 (1^st) > Phillies 28 (22^nd)

Pitching Stats:

Team Earned Run Average: Nationals 3.42 (4^th) > Phillies 3.93 (13^th)

Batting Average Against: Nationals .225 (4^th) > Phillies .244 (14^th)

Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched: Nationals 1.13 (2^nd) > Phillies 1.25 (11^th)

Strikeouts: Nationals 681 (5^th) > Cardinals 662 (5^th)

Saves: Nationals 24 (3^rd) > Phillies 19 (14^th)

Fielding Stats:

Errors: Nationals 31 (5^th) > Phillies 55 (28^th)

Summary:

The Phillies enter the game ranking 16^th in runs per game (4.33) and 13^th in team earned run average (3.93).  The Phillies are (7-3) in their last ten games but just (15-20) on the road this season.  Philadelphia, loaded with young talent, has been one of the surprise teams in Major League Baseball this season.  Odubel Herrera (.299, 12 HR, 41 RBI) and Rhys Hoskins (.257, 10 HR, 41 RBI) have carries the Phillies offense in the early going.  The Phillies have really struggled in the field committing the third most errors (55) in the league.  Philadelphia’s starting rotation has been solid but their bullpen ranks 20^th in ERA (4.13).  The Phillies will be up against young Jefry Rodriguez (0-0, 4.66) who is fresh off his first major league start.

The Nationals rank 21^st in runs per game (4.25) and 4^th in team ERA (3.42).  Washington is (3-7) in their last ten games and (17-18) at home this season.  The Nationals’ starting rotation has been nothing short of dominant and they just acquired Royals closer Kelvin Herrera to help fortify an already strong bullpen.  Injuries to Matt Wieters, Adam Eaton, Daniel Murphy, and Ryan Zimmerman have derailed what was supposed to be a potent offense.  Bryce Harper (.209, 19 HR, 44 RBI) isn’t hitting for average but his power numbers are ridiculous as always.  Michael Taylor and Trea Turner rank one and two in the majors in stolen bases.  Rookie 19-year old Juan Soto (.326, 6 HR, 14 RBI) has torn the cover off the ball in his 27 games.  Washington hitters will face off against Phillies righty Nick Pivetta (4-6, 4.08).

Bottom Line:

The Nationals are (2-1) against the Phillies this season outscoring them 13-10.  Washington hitters have owned Nick Pivetta batting a combined .426 against him in 47 at-bats.  Bryce Harper is a player to watch with two homers in 4 at-bats against the Phillies right hander.  Pivetta has been good at home but terrible on the road this season (1-3, 6.23).  If Jefry Rodriguez can give five solid innings than Washington’s strong bullpen should be abloe to finish the job.

Contest Rules: 

To be eligible to win a prize in any contest at The Crowd’s Line, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States or Canada. You must also submit your score prediction on our official prediction tool (blog widget), and include a valid email address. Contest winners are determined according to The Crowd’s Line scoring methodology. If more than one entrant has the same winning score, final contest rankings and prize winners are selected by random draw. Only one entry per person is allowed for each contest; multiple entries from a single player will be deemed invalid. There are no prize substitutions or exchanges available from The Crowd’s Line.

All prizes will be sent by e-mail within two weeks after the conclusion of each contest.