Nationals-Orioles prediction: Picks, odds on Tuesday, September 26

The Washington Nationals (69-88) take on the Baltimore Orioles (97-59) in the first game of a two-game series on Tuesday, September 26. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. ET from Camden Yards. Josiah Gray (8-12, 4.00 ERA) will take the mound for the Nationals, and Kyle Bradish (11-7, 3.01) will pitch for the Orioles. The Orioles are 2.5 games ahead of the Rays in the AL West and are looking to clinch the division this week.

Baltimore enters as -238 moneyline favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, with Washington coming in at +195. The run total is set at 7.5.

Nationals-Orioles picks: Tuesday, September 26

Injury report

Nationals

Out: SP Mackenzie Gore (finger), OF Travis Blankenhorn (foot), C Riley Adams (hand), SP Jake Irvin (ankle)

Orioles

Out: RP Felix Bautista (partial right UCL tear), 1B Ryan Mountcastle (right shoulder soreness)

Starting pitchers

Josiah Gray vs. Kyle Bradish

Gray has looked solid this month. In his latest start, he held the White Sox to one earned run in five innings and recorded four strikeouts. In his most recent road start, he kept the Pirates to two earned runs in 6.1 innings and struck out a season-high 10 batters. Earlier this season, he let up one earned run in five innings against Baltimore.

Bradish has largely done well this month, excepting his single home start in September. In his most recent outing, he kept the Astros runless over six innings and recorded nine strikeouts. In his latest home start, he let up four earned runs in seven innings against the Rays. He kept the Nationals runless over six innings earlier this season.

Over/Under pick

We have two very strong pitchers on the mound here, and while the Orioles’ offense is significantly better than the Nationals, I think that both batting lineups will struggle to put up crooked numbers in this matchup.

Pick: Under 7.5

Moneyline pick

The Orioles won two of four against the Guardians and the Nationals dropped three of four against the Braves in their latest series. The Orioles are in crunch time for the playoffs here, and will be bringing out the big guns. Gray is going to be a tough nut to crack on the mound, but the Nationals have struggled to score this year — both in general and against the Orioles — and I think Baltimore inches closer to that magic number.