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The Chicago Cubs open a three-game set with the Washington Nationals on Friday at the Nation’s capital.
Cole Hamels will open on top of the mound for the Cubs on Friday. The 35-year old left-hander from San Diego, California has started in a total of 8 games this season. Hamels has a record of 3-0 with an ERA of 3.08, WHIP of 1.07 and BAA of .203 this season. The Cubs are 6-2 in his eight starts.
Hamels has pitched in a total of 49.2 innings this season and has given up a total of 19 runs (17 earned) on 36 hits with 6 home runs while walking a total of 17 batters and striking out 49 others. In his last outing, Hamels did not factor in the decision as he allowed just one earned run on three hits in seven innings of work as the Cubs beat the Brewers 2-1 last May 11th.
Javier Baez leads Chicago with a .322 batting average while also hitting a team-best 11 home runs drilled. Baez’s 29 RBIs is tied with Anthony Rizzo’s production for the most in the Cubs’ lineup this season. Rizzo also has connected on 10 dingers this season. The Cubs are batting at .255 this season and have scored a total of 214 runs.
For the Nationals, it will be Max Scherzer who will take the hill and start against the Cubs. The 34-year old has started nine games this season and has a record of 2-4. Washington’s pitching ace has an ERA of 3.64, WHIP of 1.15 and a BAA of .252 this season. Washington is just 2-7 in Scherzer’s nine starts this season.
Scherzer has pitched in a total of 59.1 innings and has given up 27 runs ( 24 earned) on 8 hits with 5 home runs while walking 20 and striking out a National League best 79 batters this season. In his last outing, Scherzer picked up the win as he allowed two earned runs on five hits with one home runs in seven innings of work as the Nationals beat the Dodgers 5-2 on May 11th.
Adam Eaton is Washington’s top hitter at .273 on the season. Victor Robles has eight home runs to lead the Nationals while Juan Soto has 24 RBIs to pace Washington. As a team, the Nationals are batting at a .238 clip while scoring a total of 190 runs on the season.
Who Wins?
The Cubs are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played. Chicago is 1-1 SU in their last two road games played. The Nationals are 3-7 SU in their last 10 games played. Washington is 1-1 SU in their last two games played at home. Head to head, the Cubs are 3-2 SU in their last five meetings against the Nationals. Chicago is also 3-2 SU in their last five home games against Washington.
Chicago is 10-9 SU in 19 games played on the road this season while Washington is 9-12 SU at home this season. The Cubs are 2-5 SU as underdogs this season while the Nationals are 9-14 SU as favorites. The Cubs are 20-11 SU against right-handers this season while the Nationals are 3-6 SU in their nine games against left-handed starters this season.
The Cubs are 7-7 SU when the betting gods peg them at a range of +125 to -125. Meanwhile, the Nationals are 7-2 SU in Max Scherzer’s last nine Friday starts. Scherzer has not been his usual self this season but he is coming off perhaps his best outing of the season and I think he will build off that and start rolling. Washington is finally back after a long and grueling road trip and I think that’s going to be a factor here as well. Look for Washington to win this game and probably start making their move in the East. I’m picking the Washington Nationals to beat the Chicago Cubs on 5/17/19.
Other Bet To Make
The total has gone under in six out of the last 10 games played by the Cubs. Chicago has seen the total go over in 13 out of their 19 road games played this season. Meanwhile, the under is 6-2-2 in the Nationals’ last 10 games played. The over is 10-8-1 in Washington’s 19 home games played this season. Head to head, the over is 3-1 in the last four meetings between these two teams.
Hamels and Scherzer have been two of the best pitchers in the decade so this one should be a good pitching battle. With both still on top of their games, I don’t see too many runs scored in this one. The under is 5-1 in Chicago’s last six games against a right-handed starter, 5-2-1 in Scherzer’s last 8 starts against an opponent with a winning record and 4-0-2 in the Nationals’ last six games overall. Take the under here. Prediction: Under 7.5
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