We hit another winner yesterday! That makes our record for the week to be 9-6 (60%) but since we went 1-2 on Tuesday we’re still down $-0.57 cents. This means that today’s picks will either make or break our week. Remember, we’re wagering an imaginary $10 on each bet for a random game and seeing where it takes us in terms of growing our “bankroll”. So far, it’s only taken us slightly backwards.
Today’s game takes us to the Nation’s Capital for the Giants (54-44) and Nationals (39-58). San Fancisco is putting Logan Webb (8-7, 3.11 ERA) on the mound vs. Washington’s Josiah Gray (6-8, 3.59 ERA).
Pitchers
Webb is a bit of a strikeout master. He’s fanned 38 batters in the last five games, but he’s also only picked up two wins during that span. He’s allowed 2.4 earned runs over the last five games which places him below his season average. He’s gone at least five innings in each of his last five starts, including a complete game against Colorado on July 9.
Opposing Webb is Josiah Gray who also has two wins in his last five starts. He also has a knack of getting opposing batters to whiff, averaging 6 punch-outs per game over the last five, and his 2.8 earned run average over the last five starts also has him below his season average.
The Lineups
San Francisco has scored 21 runs over the last five games. The Giants are led, in scoring, by Michael Conforto’s 13 homeruns and 51 RBI. LaMonte Wade Jr. leads SF with a .275 batting average.
Lane Thomas is a one-man wrecking crew for the Nats. He leads Washington in home runs (16), batting average (.292) and RBIs (52). This is our seventh day into this project and he’s the first guy we’ve covered to lead the team in all three categories.
The Nationals have scored 22 runs over the last five games.
The Streaks
San Francisco comes into this game having lost three in a row, including the series opener against the Nationals on Friday night.
Washington’s win over the Giants last night snapped a two-game losing streak.
The Odds
Giants -1.5
Giants -200 on the ML
Over/Under 8.5
Let’s start with what I believe is the best bet for the game. The Nationals are the home team and they won the series opener last night. They’re +100 at 1.5 run underdog. I think ultimately SF wins this game but I really like Washington to keep it to a one-score contest.
The ML continues to be the worst bet at -200 but the Giants are the play there.
We’ve hit the over two consecutive days in a row now but we’re going to swap to the under on this game. Both pitchers have been trending up over their last five starts.
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