Nationals vs Blue Jays prediction and odds for Monday, August 28 (Back Toronto's Ace)
The Washington Nationals took two of three from the Miami Marlins to get to 61-70 on the year. The Nats have won five straight series heading into this three-game set with the 71-60 Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto has lost back-to-back series and is on the outside of the American League Wild Card race looking in.
Washington’s All-Star will take the mound in Game 1 of this series. Josiah Gray is 7-10 with a 3.85 ERA in 25 starts this year and will be opposed by another All-Star, 9-8 Kevin Gausman. Gausman has a 3.23 ERA in 25 starts and a much longer track record than his counterpart.
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The Washington Nationals have been very good lately. In August they are 16-8 which is the fifth best record in all of baseball this month. They have accomplished that while posting a team ERA of 4.54 which is 16th over that stretch. They honestly haven’t been much better at the plate with a .720 OPS which ranks 16th and 111 runs scored which is 15th.
The Nationals have also lost Stone Garrett to an injury which really hurts their lineup and puts a ton of responsibility on Lane Thomas. Thomas is their best hitter, but without Stone Garrett’s .801 OPS it will be tough to produce enough offense to keep winning. Though, this month, Keibert Ruiz has a .990 OPS and is hitting .347.
During this stretch, the Blue Jays are 12-12 and have a 3.53 team ERA and a .712 OPS. This is a case where the results don’t match the production, so I feel okay fading a red-hot Nationals, especially against Kevin Gausman.
Gausman has a 2.86 FIP and is second in the MLB with 195 strikeouts. He’s totally dominant while Gray has a 4.91 FIP with just 118 strikeouts in 135.2 innings.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change
