Editorial by: Graydon Fox

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Top 5 winners

1. sbpen***@hotmail.com (400 PTS)
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3. Stick Mann (300 PTS)
4. J Antonio Ibarra (300 PTS)
5. Julio Alvarez (300 PTS)

Overview:

On Sunday, April 22^nd, the (9-10) Washington Nationals will be on the road to take on the (8-9) Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Dodgers 6.2 – Nationals 4.0 with an over/under of 10.2.

Starting Pitchers:

WAS: Jeremy Hellickson (0-0, 3.86) vs LAD: Alex Wood (0-2, 3.91)

Batting Stats:

Runs per game: Dodgers 4.94 (11^th) > Nationals 4.47 (14^th)

Batting Average: Dodgers .250 (6^th) > Nationals .235 (17^th)

On Base Percentage: Nationals .335 (7^th) > Dodgers .318 (15^th)

Total Bases: Nationals 253 (8^th) > Dodgers 242 (13^th)

Baserunning Stats:

Stolen Bases: Dodgers 9 (12^th) > Nationals 10 (16^th)

Pitching Stats:

Team Earned Run Average: Dodgers 3.72 (12^th) > Nationals 4.19 (18^th)

Batting Average Against: Nationals .225 (8^th) > Dodgers .236 (12^th)

Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched: Dodgers 1.17 (6^th) > Nationals 1.19 (17^th)

Strikeouts: Nationals 203 (2^nd) > Dodgers 187 (3^rd)

Saves: Nationals 5 (11^th) > Dodgers 2 (28^th)

Fielding Stats:

Errors: Dodgers 9 (12^th) > Nationals 10 (16^th)

Summary:

The Dodgers enter the game 11^th in the league in runs per game (4.94) and 12^th in team earned run average (3.72).  Fresh off their World Series run, the Dodgers have gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season.  The Dodgers are currently riding a four-game winning streak and are (4-4) at home this season.  The Dodgers have had success against Jeremy Hellickson (0-0, 3.86) hitting a combined .353 in 51 total at-bats.  Hellickson really struggled last season (8-11, 5.43) for both the Baltimore Orioles and the Philadelphia Phillies.  Yasmani Grandal (.352, 3 HR, 13 RBI) and the resurgent Matt Kemp (.347, 3 HR, 10 RBI) have paced the Dodgers offense in the early going.  The Dodgers have been kept afloat by their tremendous pitching which ranks in the top half of the league in nearly every category.

Washington ranks 14^th in runs per game (4.47) and 18^th in team ERA (4.19).  The Nationals are (5-5) in their last ten games but they are (6-3) on the road this season.  Bryce Harper, in his free agent year, is off to an MVP caliber start (.288, 8 HR, 18 RBI) leading the majors in home runs.  Adam Eaton (.345) is off to a nice start after missing most of last season with injury.  The Nationals have a combined .391 batting average in 92 at-bats against Dodgers starter Alex Wood (0-2, 3.91).  Wood has been even better than his numbers indicate this season ranking 7^th in the MLB in WHIP (0.74).  Anthony Rendon, in particular, has 12 hits in 19 at-bats (.632) against Wood.

Bottom Line:

The Dodgers have a big advantage in this pitching match-up even though the Nationals have hit well against Wood.  The Dodgers bats have finally come alive during their winning streak scoring at least seven runs in each of the four games.  The Dodgers bullpen has been absolutely lights out this season should Wood struggle in the early going.  I’m picking the L.A. to win a relatively high scoring game at home.

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