Washington Nationals (41-82) vs. Seattle Mariners (66-56)
The Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners open a two-game set on Tuesday. The season is all but over for Washington, who enter the series in last place of the NL East, 38.0 games behind the New York Mets. They are 26.0 games behind in the NL wildcard standings. The Seattle Mariners are in second in the AL West and are not catching the Houston Astros. However, they are right in the thick of the AL wildcard chase, currently holding the third position.
These teams have met just one time this season, with Seattle earning a 2-1 victory in Washington on July 13. The Mariners enter as the prohibitive favorite at -275, with Washington coming in at +220. When giving up 1.5 runs, Seattle is still the favorite at -120 with the Nationals at +100 when receiving 1.5 runs. T he total is set at 7.5 (over: +100, under: -120).
Not much has gone well this season for Washington, as they have the worst record in baseball and are last in team ERA (5.61). However, the club has an opportunity to play spoiler down the stretch, having dealt the San Diego Padres a bit of a blow over the weekend, taking two of the four games. They are now 3-4 against the Padres over the last 12 days.
James Wood (@FXBGNats) went 2-2 with 2 walks and a HR that he crushed to RF.
In 13 games since joining the Nationals organization, James has driven in 13 runs.@jwood_29 // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/KA4PRfURCu
— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) August 22, 2022
Washington’s woes begin with that pitching staff. It is not just that they are last in ERA, but how they are losing. The Nationals are last in home runs allowed at 185, an average of nearly 1.5 home runs given up per game. Plus, they are 28th in opponent batting average (.268) and 29th in opponent WHIP (1.46). Erick Fredde gets the start and he is 5-7 with a 4.95 ERA in 19 starts. Fredde will be making his first appearance since July 24 and was pitching well before going on the disabled list, allowing five earned runs in his last 10.0 innings pitched.
However, he cannot expect much offensive support. The Nationals are 25th in runs per game (3.8 6) and are tied for 26th in home runs (102). The club has shown some life in August, hitting 23 homers in 20 games and recording a .253 batting average, averaging 3.4 runs per game.