Nationals vs. Padres: Great Pitchers’ Match and Very Tight MLB Odds

If you slip below the .500 mark at this stage of the season, the MLB odds are that you won’t be playing baseball beyond the first week of October. The San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals are both flirting with that mark, and are both on the outside looking in right now. That makes their upcoming series very important, and they will play the first of 3 in Washington on Tuesday.

San Diego vs. Washington MLB Game Info

This catch: The icing on the cake. http://t.co/QQwf3jSt1O #CurlyW pic.twitter.com/t68MUkQZoP

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 23, 2015

After losing to Milwaukee last Friday, the Washington Nationals (62-61) slipped a game under the .500 mark, and essentially out of the Wild Card picture in the progress. They managed to rebound with back to back wins, but they are now 5 games back of the New York Mets in the NL East, and running out of time to close the gap. After struggling offensively for a while now, the Nats got their bats going a little in the series versus the Rockies and the Brewers, but they still took a couple of losses that hurt their chances of closing the gap at the top. Washington are just 4-6 in their last 10 games, and will need to flip that script in a hurry if they are to have any chance of playing postseason ball. Stephen Strasburg (7-6, 4.22 ERA) has been brilliant in his 3 starts since returning from injury, giving up just 3 earned runs in that stretch. It looked for a while as though the San Diego Padres (61-63) were done, but a ridiculous slump by the LA Dodgers has the lead in the division down to 6.5 games. The problem for the Padres is that they still also have to pass the Giants and the Diamondbacks in order to get to the top, as that is their only hope of getting into the postseason. You have to give credit to San Diego for continuing to battle, as they have put together a 7-3 record in their past 10 games. The next 6 games for the Padres come on the road, but are against a pair of teams –  the Nationals and Phillies – that are very much there for the taking. James Shields (9-5, 3.74 ERA) has pitched well this season, but hasn’t received the run support that he deserves.

MLB Injuries

This has all the makings of a very good pitcher’s duel, and is one that I believe Strasburg will win. He has been just that good over his past 3 starts.